Amazon Closes $8.5 Billion Deal To Buy MGM Movie Studio

Amazon made themselves the largest consumer website after buying up competition. Now they are going head-on with full speed into the movie making space. They are also into locking down intellectual property in a huge way and that includes owning Hollywood history.

Amazon has closed their deal to buy MGM at a whopping $8.5 Billion, the company said on Thursday. As the mega-corporation looks to expand itself in the streaming sector, they have successfully acquired the fabled movie maker behind “Rocky” and “James Bond.”

The pact was first announced back in May and had gone through a regulatory process. The transaction completion came just two days after the Amazon-MGM deal received clearance from the European Union’s antitrust regulator.

With the deal closing, Amazon will be combining the newly acquired movie studio with their Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios.

The senior Vice President of Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studio said in the statement:

“We welcome MGM employees, creators, and talent to Prime Video and Amazon Studios, and we look forward to working together to create even more opportunities to deliver quality storytelling,”

As the company looks forward to welcoming all the MGM employees to their new home, Jeff Bezos-run company indicated that there would be no layoffs. The decision to close came after a deadline passed for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to challenge the deal.

“MGM has a nearly century-long legacy of producing exceptional entertainment, and we share their commitment to delivering a broad slate of original films and television shows to a global audience,” Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, said. “We welcome MGM employees, creators, and talent to Prime Video and Amazon Studios, and we look forward to working together to create even more opportunities to deliver quality storytelling to our customers.”

With the acquisition of MGM Amazon looks forward to give a competition to streaming giant Netflix. MGM strengthens Amazon Prime Video’s offering with more than 4,000 film titles, including this year’s Oscar-nominated “Licorice Pizza” and a extensive list of television shows.

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