Its official, Amazon, is acquiring the legendary MGM Hollywood studio. The blockbuster deal will boost the already sizable presence in Hollywood and give Prime Video steaming service a competitive edge.
The announcement came Wednesday morning; Amazon and MGM said they have a definitive merger agreement in which Amazon will pay $8.45 million to acquire MGM. The deal is still subject to regulatory approval.
Last year the reported value of MGM was $5.5 billion.
“Amazon will help preserve MGM’s heritage and catalog of films and provide customers with greater access to these existing works,” the companies said. “Through this acquisition, Amazon would empower MGM to continue to do what they do best: great storytelling.”
The MGM library contains such popular titles as the James Bond movies, the Rocky and Creed movies, The Silence of the Lambs, Raging Bull, Basic Instinct, and the Legally Blonde movies. MGM also owns numerous movies from the golden age of Hollywood.
The MGM library contains 17,000 TV shows which will surely help Prime Video compete in the crowded streaming entertainment field.
“The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of [intellectual property] in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team,” said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, in a statement.
“It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling.”
Jeff Bezos’s company status as a major Hollywood player will be realized with this acquisition. Amazons Studios is in production for a TV series inspired by The Lord of the Rings, reportedly costing $465 million to make.
The MGM deal is Amazon’s follows the purchase of Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion.
