Amazon to acquire a movie studios Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) for $8.45 billion, a home to the James Bond franchise, which also owns the Epix cable channel and makes popular TV shows including “Fargo,” “Vikings” and “Shark Tank.”
The transaction gives Amazon a huge library of films and TV shows and ramping up competition with streaming rivals led by Netflix, HBO Max and Disney+.
Amazon founder, chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos said, “We’re looking forward to reimagining and developing the deep catalog of MGM,” said Bezos, speaking Wednesday at Amazon’s annual shareholders meeting.
He adds, “The acquisition thesis here is really very simple: MGM has a vast, deep catalog of much-loved intellectual property. With the talented people at MGM and Amazon Studios, we can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21s century… People who love stories are going to be the big beneficiaries.”
In his remarks, Bezos cited MGM films and franchises including “James Bond,” “Thelma and Louise,” “Raging Bull,” “Robocop” and “Tomb Raider,” as well as TV shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Vikings.”
More broadly than MGM, Bezos said that not all of Amazon’s big bets and investments will pay off — and that, in fact, many of them will fail. “The only way to get above-average returns is to take risks and many won’t pay off. Our whole history as a company is about taking risks, many of which have failed and many of which will fail,” he concluded.
Reuters reports, News of the acquisition followed quickly on the upcoming return of Jeff Blackburn, Amazon’s former senior vice president overseeing content and M&A, who had left early this year. The site also mentioned that, Incoming Amazon CEO Jassy had particular trust in Blackburn after decades at Amazon together, hoping he might shepherd a complicated merger.
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