One of the biggest merger announcements in recent history occurred when Disney managed to acquire the entirety of Fox. It was a massive move for the entertainment industry and one that proved just how much more powerful some of these big companies could become. Now it looks like Amazon might be pulling a similar move. According to a new announcement, it looks like Amazon is now in talks to purchase MGM Studios for a massive price tag within the $7 billion to $10 billion range.
As explained via The Wrap, the deal was mentioned by a source close to the alleged negotiations via The Information. However, it’s been stated as of this writing that both MGM and Amazon have refused to comment on the situation. Nevertheless, it was mentioned that in December MGM did hire Morgan Stanley and LionTree LLC to start a formal sale process.
This would be a massive move if proven both true and successful, and one that would give Amazon quite the edge for its streaming service. It wouldn’t just allow Amazon more titles to stream, but it would give access to more IPs that they could produce new titles through. And, considering MGM’s vast library, the potential is virtually endless.
After all, MGM Studios holds the rights to such properties as James Bond, Rocky, Poltergeist, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a massive variety of others. They also hold the rights to a multitude of film properties they’ve acquired over the years, from smaller B-movies to massive blockbusters. So it would definitely give Amazon a massive advantage for their streaming efforts.
Of course, this information has yet to be verified by MGM or Amazon at the moment. So with that in mind, it should be taken with a grain of salt. But as Disney has proved with their acquisition of Fox – these types of mergers are more than possible and it does seem likely that Amazon would want to grow their expanding library of titles. As such, we’ll probably be hearing updates on the situation soon. So, as always, stay tuned to ScreenGeek for more updates as we have them.