MGM-Pathe Near Loan as Creditors Are Pressing : Film: A tentative agreement would give the company a cash infusion of $250 million. Involuntary bankruptcy has been threatened by a group owed more than $20 million.

MGM-Pathe Communications Co., struggling with tens of millions of dollars in overdue bills, has a tentative agreement to receive $250 million in new operating funds from a unit of Paris-based banking giant Credit Lyonnais, people familiar with the loan said.

The cash infusion would come even as MGM-Pathe creditors have stepped up pressure for payment. The studio has been notified that several creditors plan to file an involuntary bankruptcy petition against the company as early as this week if it does not pay more than $20 million in overdue bills immediately, according to individuals familiar with the situation.

A company spokesman declined to comment on the cash infusion or the bankruptcy threat. MGM-Pathe Chairman Giancarlo Parretti has said in recent published interviews that his company is meeting its obligations and already has sufficient funds to keep operating.

According to several individuals, however, MGM-Pathe officers were advised of a planned bankruptcy filing more than a week ago by several creditors who are seeking the $20 million.

Three or more creditors can seek an involuntary liquidation of a company under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company can then agree to the liquidation or can file to keep operating with protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the code or can demonstrate to a judge that it has sufficient resources to meet its bills.

Two individuals familiar with MGM-Pathe said a creditors group, including filmmakers and others represented by attorney Stephen Chrystie of Chrystie & Berle, has been pressing not only for payment but for guarantees that MGM-Pathe can meet obligations to others.

Payments made 90 days before a bankruptcy filing can be invalidated by the courts, so any settlement with a creditors’ group can be endangered if another group subsequently initiates a bankruptcy proceeding.

Both Chrystie and MGM-Pathe attorney Terry Christensen declined to comment. Chrystie & Berle represented clients in an involuntary bankruptcy petition filed last year against Management Co. Entertainment Group, a troubled independent film company that later filed for Chapter 11 protection. Christensen long represented Kirk Kerkorian, who was majority shareholder of MGM/UA Communications Co. before it was sold last Nov. 1 to Pathe Communications for $1.4 billion.

The new loan would enable the studio to release about 10 films that were produced in the past year at a cost of $154 million but have not yet been shown in theaters.

While the new financing agreement is tentative, studio sources expect it to be finalized within days.

One MGM-Pathe source said the new funds would immediately permit the studio to move up one of its strongest new films--”Delirious,” starring John Candy--to a May 3 release date.

The film had been set for distribution in March, then was pushed back to August when MGM-Pathe could not place advertising with newspapers or secure services with other vendors because of unpaid bills.

Several individuals close to MGM-Pathe have said the studio was forced to confront between $50 million and $100 million in unpaid bills shortly after the company was formed last November. According to those people, officials of MGM/UA Communications had let bills stack up rather than pay for ongoing business while Pathe sought financing to buy the bigger studio.

MGM-Pathe Co-Chairman Jeffrey Barbakow, who was previously chairman of MGM/UA Communications, did not return a call seeking comment.