Amazon is in talks to buy Hollywood’s famous studios based MGM movie studios for $9bn. A sale that would mark a major milestone for Amazons streaming service including a vast back catalogue of media content.
MGM Studios boasts a huge catalogue of over 4000 titles of films and 17,000 hours of television shows covering the last ten decades, from the Golden Age of Hollywood to the present day. It also homes to some of the biggest movies of all time, including Ben-Hur, the James Bond movie franchise and the wizard of Oz among others.
MGM holdings which the parent company for has been looking for a suitable buyer since last December and had attracted major investments like Netflix and apple but the price factor created a major bottleneck to finalize the buyout.
Amazon is likely to have a breakthrough in the sale though both companies have declined to comment on the sale. This would also be Amazons largest sale since 2017 when it bought Whole foods market for $13.7 billion.
The streaming wars continue to fuel huge inflation in the prices to be paid for must-have content. In recent days, global franchises are becoming increasingly scarce especially due to bankruptcy with some even closing down business, as a result, rocketing in value.
Amazon has recently been seen reshuffling its entertainment operations with the return of longtime executive Jeff Blackburn who shortly left the e-commerce company to join Silicon Valley venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners. Jeff is now taking command of Amazon’s entire entertainment division, including the Prime Video streaming service, Amazon Studios and the video-game-streaming site Twitch, the MGM sale will quickly blend in if the deal is closed.