Amazon has confirmed that it is buying MGM Studios for $8.45 billion. There were rumours and reports over the last 48 hours speculating that Amazon has plans on buying MGM Studios. Reports and rumours had it that the company would be buying the century-old studio for a price between $8.5 and $9 billion. According to an inside source that didn’t want to be named, Amazon planned on revealing the deal within this week. The Wall Street Journal, also reported on Monday that the Amazon-MGM Studios deal could be announced this week.
The MGM Studios purchase is therefore Amazon’s biggest acquisition since acquiring Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017. This deal is a huge step in providing support for Amazon’s Prime Video in the battle for the company with the largest streams. Prime Video already has a reputation and combining this with that of MGM Studios that has many TV shows and films under its belt will transcend Amazon to a new dimension. MGM Studios owns famous TV and movie franchises like Legally Blonde, Stargate, The Pink Panther, and Rocky. The company also has hit TV shows like Fargo and The Handmaid’s Tale to its name. MGM Studios also owns reality TV shows like Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice, and The Real Housewives. The deal is a total win for Amazon.
“The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalogue that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling”, Mike Hopkins; Amazon Studios and Prime Video Senior Vice President said in a statement the company released.
Just like other huge deals, the deal is going to go through scrutiny by regulators.
