SEATTLE – In a move that will heat up the entertainment industry even further; Amazon.com (AMZN: NASDAQ) has purchased the historic Hollywood studio MGM for a record $8.45bn.
This will boost the company’s offerings through a huge back catalogue of movies and shows on Amazon Prime videos and increase competition for streaming service providers such as Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV.
MGM, a historic Hollywood studio, was responsible for producing some of the most iconic movies worldwide such as The Wizard of Oz and Ben Hur.
MGM Holdings, the parent company of MGM Studios, had been exploring a sale since 2020.
Amazon said in a statement that the deal would allow MGM, founded in 1924 and recognised by its roaring Leo the Lion logo, “to continue to do what they do best: great storytelling.”
Amazon’s takeover of MGM will need to be approved by regulators, at a time when, for unrelated reasons, the firm is under intense scrutiny in the US and EU.
This is Amazon’s second biggest acquisition since the purchase of high-end grocery chain Whole Foods Market for $13.7bn in 2017.
