Multinational company Amazon, focused on e-commerce and owner of the SVOD OTT Prime Video, has officially announced this last Wednesday, May 26th, that it will acquire US studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), for a total of USD 8.45 billion. The news confirms the rumors about a possible transaction, which had been launched days ago by several specialized websites, including The Information. Completion of this transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

As reported from Amazon on the negotiations, the company ‘will help preserve MGM’s heritage and catalog of films, and provide customers with greater access to these existing works’. In addition, they reported that, through this acquisition, ‘Amazon would empower MGM to continue to do what they do best: great storytelling’. The acquisition of MGM titles joins Amazon Studios, producer and distributor of film and TV titles, owned by Amazon.

The transaction means that Amazon will enrich its catalog with more than 4 thousand films, series and 17 thousand TV programs. Some of them are ‘Fargo’; ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’; ‘James Bond’; ‘Robocop’; ‘Rocky’; ‘Thelma & Louise’; ‘Vikings’, and others. ‘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’, reported  Mike Hopkings, SVP at Prime Video and Amazon Studios.