Amazon nears deal to buy MGM Studios for nearly $9 billion

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Alex Sherman - CNBC




Amazon is nearing a deal to acquire MGM Studios, the co-owner of the James Bond franchise and other film and TV series, for between $8.5 billion and $9 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The deal is expected to be announced as soon as Tuesday. The people asked not to be named because the talks are private.

It would mark Amazon's biggest acquisition since it bought Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Monday that the deal could be announced this week.

Amazon is interested in acquiring more TV and film content for its Prime Video service as it competes with Netflix, Disney and other streaming video services. MGM is a natural fit for any streaming service because of its plethora of content.

MGM, which is a private company, has been seeking a buyer for several years. Its owners include Anchorage Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Davidson, Kempner Capital Management, Solus Alternative Asset Management and Owl Creek Investments — funds that took control of the studio when it emerged from bankruptcy in 2010.

MGM owns a number of famed movie and TV franchises, including Rocky, Legally Blonde, The Pink Panther and Stargate. It also owns a studio, which has made more current hit TV shows, including "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Fargo."

MGM owns a number of popular reality TV shows, including "Shark Tank," "Survivor," "The Real Housewives" series and "The Voice."

MGM also owns Epix, a premium pay-TV service valued at about $1.3 billion in 2017.

MGM and Amazon representatives weren't immediately available to comment.

[FBD]

paging Mr Sherman

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Joshua Comins | FOXBusiness




Amazon Inc. unveiled its acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Wednesday at a deal valuing upwards of $8.4 billion.

Fox News' "America Reports" co-anchor Sandra Smith joined the Fox Business' "Kudlow" citing that "this is Jeff Bezos' largest acquisition since Whole Foods. That was $13.7 billion back in 2017, there is so much competition for the streaming space that this is the way Bezos sees in. So it's a it's a huge deal."

The film studio's buyout is yet another enormous deal secured by the tech giant targeting the streaming industry. With Amazon’s latest acquisition, the deal delivers more than 4,000 films and 17,000 shows.

"So for Amazon, that's primarily competed in the show space, this builds their film space and adds a lot of the shows that you're going to want to watch and a lot of the movies. ‘James Bond’ is added, the ‘Rocky’ franchise has been added, 'The Handmaid's Tale' TV series has been added in this. Huge, huge deal," said Smith.

MGM’s vast library catalog features other popular films such as ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ ‘The Pink Panther,’ and ‘The Hobbit.' Since its inception, the studio has won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys.

Amazon’s Prime video service calculated an uptick in viewership in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic with a 70% increase in streaming hours versus the previous year. With more than 200 million Prime members, Amazon continues to expand its Prime Video production giving users an even wider range of content.

According to Amazon’s 2020 annual report, the company spent a $11 billion on their Prime service substantially boosting the corporate giant’s streaming ambitions.

Acquiring one of Hollywood’s oldest studios further strengthens Amazon’s artillery competing against The Walt Disney Company’s Disney+ and Netflix. Disney cashed in on the 21st Century Fox mega-deal worth $71.3 billion in 2019 prior to its launch of Disney+.

"This way they're going to be able to compete with Netflix like they haven't been able to before," said "Kudow" host David Asman. "Netflix comes out with more original stuff, I think more than Prime does up until now. But with MGM behind them, they could probably see what Netflix does."

Billionaire and entrepreneur Jeff Bezos founded the online book marketplace in 1995 constructing it into an astounding $1.6 trillion empire.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

And somehow their catalog will still suck

[Teh One Who Knocks]

And somehow their catalog will still suck

Of all the streaming services, Amazon is by far the worst. Don't get me wrong, there's some Amazon Originals that I like, but when I'm caught up on those shows, I never go to Amazon to find something to watch. And a couple of the Amazon shows me and the wife like only have one season left coming up.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

I happened across The Baytown Outlaws on Prime yesterday, that was pretty good

[FBD]

I make every effort to not give Jeff Bezos a dime of my money

[lost in melb.]

Why does this guy want to buy everything?

[FBD]

do we really need to describe powerlust to you, is it not in your psychobooks?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9175338/