In this Sept 28, 2020 photo, a woman prays at the Erawan Shrine in front of an advertisement poster featuring Daniel Craig in the new James Bond movie "No Time to Die" in Bangkok. (MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP)

US movie studio MGM Holdings is exploring a sale, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The movie studio behind the "James Bond" franchise has tapped investment banks Morgan Stanley and LionTree LLC and started a formal sale process, the source said, asking not to be identified.

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The company has a market value of around US$5.5 billion, based on privately traded shares and including debt, the source added. The development was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

MGM Holdings said it had no comment.