Amazon has closed its deal to acquire MGM for $8.5 billion in an effort to expand Prime Video and its in-house film studio, Variety reports.
“The storied, nearly century-old studio—with more than 4,000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes, 180 Academy Awards, and 100 Emmy Awards—will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers,” the company said about the deal, which was first announced in May of last year.
The deal finally went through after the European Union decided the deal posed no competition problems. The Federal Trade Commission also stood pat, allowing the deal to close once and for all.
So what does this mean for Amazon? In short, MGM’s proprietary franchises like James Bond, Creed, Rocky, and Pink Panther are owned by Jeff Bezos, which means they should be popping up exclusively on Prime Video in the not-too-distant future.
Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, touched on how excited the streamer is to have both MGM and Prime Video join forces.
“MGM has a nearly century-long legacy of producing exceptional entertainment, and we share their commitment to delivering a broad slate of original films and television shows to a global audience,” he said. “We welcome MGM employees, creators, and talent to Prime Video and Amazon Studios, and we look forward to working together to create even more opportunities to deliver quality storytelling to our customers.”
The purchase of MGM marks Amazon’s largest acquisition since it bought Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017.
