Amazon acquires movie company MGM for $ 8.45 billion

Amazon wants to acquire MGM for $ 8.45 billion. The companies have mutually agreed on this. With the acquisition, Amazon will acquire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s media archive; that consists of about 4000 films and 17,000 TV series.

According to Amazon, MGM’s catalog is a good addition to that of Amazon Studios, which has mainly focused on series. The company cites, among others, James Bond, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate and Tomb Raider as films it will get its hands on with the acquisition. Furthermore, it concerns TV series including Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale and Vikings.

Amazon says it will help preserve MGM’s heritage and give customers wider access to existing work. Amazon also says that after the acquisition, MGM should continue to do what it already does: “tell great stories.” It is obvious that Amazon wants to add MGM’s offer to its Prime Video streaming service, but the company says nothing concrete about that. The acquisition has yet to be approved by regulatory authorities.

The rights to the James Bond films are not fully owned by MGM. Half of the rights are owned by EON Productions, a company founded by James Bond film director Albert R. Broccoli and still owned by his descendants. That company is known for having a rigid stance on the James Bond franchise. The family would be mainly interested in the release of cinema films and would not see much in streaming or, for example, a series. The question is therefore how much freedom Amazon gets to start new projects around the James Bond franchise.