After rumours of an Amazon-MGM deal were in the works on the weekend, on Tuesday morning, the deal was made official. Amazon says it has signed a deal to acquire MGM for a cool $8.45 billion USD.
“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, in a press release.
“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,” added Hopkins.
Kevin Ulrich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MGM, added, “I am very proud that MGM’s Lion, which has long evoked the Golden Age of Hollywood, will continue its storied history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in a way the founders originally intended, driven by the talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s storied history with Amazon is an inspiring combination.”
Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) has over 4,000 film titles, plus 17,000 TV shows, with this media library to hit Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service, to compete against the likes of Netflix and Disney+, and even Apple TV+.
Amazon/Jeff Bezos buys:
MGM $8.45 billion (2021)
Ring $1.2 billion (2018)
Whole Foods $13.4 billion (2017)
Twitch $970 million (2014)
Washington Post $250 million (2013)
Goodreads $150 million (2013)
Zappos $1.2 billion (2009)
Audible $300 million (2008)
IMDB $55 million (1998)— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) May 26, 2021
The acquisition of MGM would be Amazon’s second-biggest to date, as the purchase of Whole Foods in 2017 remains the most expensive at $13.4 billion.
