$9 billion offer for MGM, Amazon

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https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/amazon-mgm-acquisition-talks-9-billion-1234975168/

Amazon is weeks into negotiations on a deal to acquire MGM for about $9 billion, industry sources tell Variety.

Chatter that Amazon (and other tech and media giants) have been sniffing around MGM has circulated for some time. But sources indicated that Amazon’s interest in acquiring the studio has taken on a new tenor beyond the usual rumor mill. The deal is said to be being orchestrated by Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Amazon Studios and Prime Video, directly with MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich, whose Anchorage Capital is a major MGM shareholder.

Reps for Amazon and MGM declined to comment.

MGM had already effectively nailed up a “for sale” sign: Variety confirmed in December that the company was looking for a buyer.

 

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Amazon to acquire MGM for $8.45 billion a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films:

Amazon today announced that it will acquire MGM for $8.45 billion. MGM has a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows. MGM also has some new movies including House of Gucci, No Time to Die, Respect, The Addams Family 2, and the untitled Paul Thomas Anderson film in the pipeline. Amazon will help preserve MGM’s catalog of films, and also provide customers with greater access to these existing works.

“MGM has a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films—12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, Creed, James Bond, Legally Blonde, Moonstruck, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, Thelma & Louise, Tomb Raider, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther, The Thomas Crown Affair, and many other icons—as well as 17,000 TV shows—including Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Vikings—that have collectively won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys,” said Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling.”

“It has been an honor to have been a part of the incredible transformation of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. To get here took immensely talented people with a true belief in one vision. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the MGM team who have helped us arrive at this historic day,” said Kevin Ulrich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MGM. “I am very proud that MGM’s Lion, which has long evoked the Golden Age of Hollywood, will continue its storied history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in a way the founders originally intended, driven by the talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s storied history with Amazon is an inspiring combination.”

Amazon to acquire MGM for $8.45 billion a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films

Amazon today announced that it will acquire MGM for $8.45 billion. MGM has a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows. MGM also has some new movies including House of Gucci, No Time to Die, Respect, The Addams Family 2, and the untitled Paul Thomas Anderson film in the...

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Amazon announced this morning that it will acquire the MGM for $8.45 billion, significantly enhancing its online content strategy.

“MGM has a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films [and] 17,000 TV shows that have collectively won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys,” Amazon senior vice president Mike Hopkins said. “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling.”

Based on that quote, it’s reasonable to assume that Amazon will pursue a Disney+-like strategy with MGM in which it repurposes famous movie and TV show properties with new and rebooted movies and TV shows, many that it will make available exclusively via Amazon Prime Video.

And MGM does own a lot of valuable intellectual property: In addition to the James Bond series, it owns Creed, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, The Pink Panther, and a lot of other content.

Amazon to Acquire MGM for $8.45 Billion

Amazon announced this morning that it will acquire the MGM for $8.45 billion, significantly enhancing its online content strategy.

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