Amazon pays $8.45 billion to buy MGM

Amazon has reached an agreement to acquire MGM for $8.45 billion. Therefore, the company owns now a catalogue with more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows. The acquisition will boost Prime Video platform in the competition with Disney + and Netflix.

The rumours of this operation began in March and both companies accelerated the process after the Warner Media and Discovery merge announced during the last week. Among this deep library we can find some of the best classics of movie history like “Twelve angry men” or “Poltergeist”. It also includes some of the most popular recent series like “The Handmaid’s Tale” or “Fargo”. It’s the second larger buy of the Jeff Bezos’ company after the acquisition of Whole Foods for $13 billion.

Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon Studios said: “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling.”

“It has been an honor to have been a part of the incredible transformation of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. To get here took immensely talented people with a true belief in one vision. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the MGM team who have helped us arrive at this historic day,” added Kevin Ulrich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MGM. “I am very proud that MGM’s Lion, which has long evoked the Golden Age of Hollywood, will continue its storied history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in a way the founders originally intended, driven by the talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s storied history with Amazon is an inspiring combination.”