THE KEY NEWS OF THE WEEK
STREAMING / BUSINESS
Amazon closed the purchase of the film and television production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the iconic studios of the roaring lion, one of the “majors” in the film industry, for 8.5 billion dollars.
In this way, the giant Amazon becomes the owner of important franchises and properties such as The Hobbit, Rocky, James Bond and other successes and will battle with other giants such as Netflix, Disney + and HBO.
Amazon closed the purchase of (MGM), one of the “majors” in the film industry, for 8.5 billion dollars, as announced by the online commerce giant in a statement.
And, it is that the financial operation occurs after Amazon confirmed to the Federal Trade Commission that it had submitted all the required documentation to antitrust investigators.
In total, according to sources in the Wall Street Journal, Amazon delivered three million documents over the last eight months as part of the process.
Although the deadline for the Federal Trade Commission to request more information has already passed and the agency could still challenge the acquisition later, if it has a majority vote of the five members that are part of it.
For its part, the European Commission already approved the transaction last Monday and assured that “it does not cause competition concerns.”
THE GLOBAL BET IS WITH PRIME CONTENT
The MGM purchase adds 4,000 movies to Amazon’s portfolio, including the iconic James Bond saga, classics like “The Wizard of Oz” and hits like “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Thelma and Louise.”
A LION THAT ROARS SINCE 1924
The veteran movie studio, founded in 1924, will become part of Amazon’s Prime Video unit and will be overseen by Senior Vice President Mike Hopkins, who underlined the “legacy of nearly a century of exceptional entertainment production” in the statement from MGM.
Amazon seeks to strengthen its Prime Video entertainment platform, which competes with other giants such as Netflix, Disney + and HBO.
It is the second largest acquisition in Amazon’s history, trailing only the $13.7 billion purchase of supermarket chain Whole Foods in 2017, a deal that has thrown millions at the giant during the pandemic.
IS IT A MONOPOLY BUSINESS?
Amazon is being closely scrutinized by US authorities over fears it could violate the country’s antitrust laws, given the company’s sheer size and the power it has amassed in certain sectors.
Last week, a committee of the US Congress asked the Department of Justice to investigate the company founded by Jeff Bezos and some of his senior officials for possible obstruction of the investigations it is carrying out.