SEATTLE & BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.—As expected, Amazon announced today that it is acquiring MGM today $8.45 billion. MGM has nearly a century of filmmaking history and complements the work of Amazon Studios, which has primarily focused on producing TV show programming. Amazon says it “will help preserve MGM’s heritage and catalog of films, and provide customers with greater access to these existing works.”
“MGM has a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films—12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, Creed, James Bond, Legally Blonde, Moonstruck, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, Thelma & Louise, Tomb Raider, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther, The Thomas Crown Affair, and many other icons—as well as 17,000 TV shows—including Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Vikings—that have collectively won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys,” said Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog 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.”
Amazon Prime is the world’s second largest streaming service with more than 150 million subscribers, the vast majority of whom subscribe through the online retailer’s “Amazon Prime” service. Netflix is the world’s largest, with more than 204 million subscribers. Amazon is advancing on Netflix’s dominance, spending $20 billion on original music and video in 2020 and is also increasing its efforts to secure live sports TV as well.
Completion of this transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
