Amazon Reportedly in Talks to Acquire MGM For About $9 Billion
Written by SOURCE on May 18, 2021
According to Variety, Amazon has spent weeks negotiating a deal to acquire MGM for somewhere around the $9 billion mark.
The outlet adds that rumors that Amazon/other tech companies were interested in acquiring MGM had circulated for awhile, but that this new development goes beyond mere gossip. Names attached to the move include Amazon Studios and Prime Video senior VP Mike Hopkins, as well as MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich.
In December 2020 it was reported that MGM was looking for a buyer.
Neither company provided an official comment on the story.
On the subject of the sale, The Information reported on Monday that Amazon was in discussions for an MGM deal that would be somewhere between $7 billion and $10 billion. MGM is reportedly looking for a price around the already mentioned $9 billion mark. Alleged industry sources also have pegged MGM’s valuation as low as (relative term) $5 billion.
Another previous development pointing at Amazon increasing its effort to bolster its entertainment included an announcement that ex high-ranking executive Jeff Blackburn was coming back to the company in a new role that heads a global media and entertainment group.
Amazon says it has 200 million worldwide subscribers for Prime. MGM has a shit ton of film/TV content. So…*makes the hands coming together gesture*
Said content includes the Bond movies, The Hobbit franchise, the Rocky films, Silence of the Lambs, The Magnificent Seven, and lots more, plus TV shows like Vikings, Fargo, American Gladiators, The Voice, Survivor, Shark Tank, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and also lots more.
As for Amazon, it reportedly spent $11 billion on TV shows, music, and movies for its Prime services in 2020. That represents a 40 percent increase over what it spent on the same segment of its business back in 2019.
