Amazon completes its $8.45 billion takeover of MGM
The James Bond, Rocky and RoboCop movies are now owned or co-owned by Amazon. The company has closed its $8.45 billion takeover of storied movie and TV studio MGM.
European Union antitrust regulators unconditionally approved the deal this week. They determined there wasn’t a great deal of overlap between the two companies, and that “MGM’s content cannot be considered as must-have” compared with other studios.
Amazon had reportedly given the Federal Trade Commission, which was said to have been reviewing the buyout, a deadline of mid-March to challenge or approve the acquisition. If the agency didn’t file a legal challenge by then, Amazon would have been free to move forward with the purchase.
MGM “will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers,” Amazon said in a press release. The studio has more than 4,000 films and 17,000 episodes of TV to its name, along with 180 Oscars and 100 Emmy Awards. MGM movies include classics such as Thelma & Louise, The Silence of the Lambs, The Magnificent Seven and Raging Bull.
Amazon will still release James Bond movies in theaters instead of hanging onto them as Prime Video exclusives. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bond reading by the pool with a Kindle in his next outing, as long as franchise co-owner Eon Productions gives the OK for that product placement.
It’s likely that the vast majority of MGM movies and TV shows will wind up on Prime Video following theatrical runs and after agreements with other streaming platforms expire.
Update 3/17 12:03PM ET: Noting that Amazon co-owns the James Bond franchise rather than owning it outright.
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