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Amazon Buys MGM For Eight-And-A-Half Billion Dollars

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The name's M. MGM. Amazon and MGM have just announced the widely-expected news that the two will merge and that Amazon will acquire MGM for $8.45 billion US dollars. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios is one of the world's oldest surviving film studios brands, formed in 1924 and as part of the announcement, Amazon states that it will help "preserve MGM's heritage and catalog of films" and give greater access to that back catalogue to their customers. There have been many complaints that modern streaming services seem to ignore classic shows and films, with history being dropped or forgotten. This would go in the other direction. It's not Amazon's biggest purchase – that would be the $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods in 2017 four years ago. They are also not the only company to have approached MGM Studios looking at an acquisition. However the price was considered overvalued, and their ownership of the lucrative Bond franchise doesn't come with control – rights are shared with the Broccoli's Eon Productions who have veto powers over every aspect of the movies, the production, distribution, and marketing. So don't expect a Bond movie to debut on Prime Video. But Amazon still seems to think it is worth it.

Amazon Buys MGM For Eight-And-A-Half Billion Dollars
Amazon Buys MGM For Eight-And-A-Half Billion Dollars – logo mashup

Other upcoming MGM projects that Amazon now has full access to include Ridley Scott's House of Gucci, Paul Thomas Anderson's Soggy Bottom, and Project Hail Mary, an adaptation of Andy Weir's novel starring Ryan Gosling. The deal follows AT&T and Discovery announcement on the 17th of May that they would combine companies and create a multi-media company which they could sell on. Looks like Amazon may have said "it's okay, we've got ours now" and a consumer base of 200 million subscribers to Amazon Prime. Say, maybe ComiXology Originals might get some film-to-comic book adaptations out of it?

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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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