The rumors had been running for days, but now it’s official: Amazon has signed a definitive merger agreement with MGM. The transaction, a statement read, predicts that Amazon will acquire MGM for $ 8.45 billion. Amazon “will help preserve MGM’s heritage and catalog of films and provide customers with greater access to these existing works,” the statement said.
Completion of this transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. With Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which was founded in 1924, Amazon “will complement the work begun with Amazon Studios which focused primarily on TV program production. Amazon will help preserve MGM’s heritage and film catalog and provide customers have greater access to these works. Through this acquisition, Amazon will allow MGM to continue doing what it does best: a great narrative. “
Mgm, notes Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, “has a vast catalog with over 4,000 films including 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; over 17,000 TV series – including Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale and Vikings – that have collectively won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys. The real financial value behind this agreement is the vast catalog that we intend to reimagine and develop together with the talented MGM team. It is very exciting and offers so many opportunities for high quality storytelling ».
For MGM’s Chairman of the Board, Kevin Ulrich, “it was an honor to have taken part in the incredible transformation of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. To get there, it took people of immense talent with a true belief in a vision. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the MGM team who helped us get to this historic day. I am very proud that MGM, which has long represented the golden age of Hollywood, will continue with its legendary history, and the idea born from the creation of United Artists lives on in the way originally envisaged by the founders, driven by talent and their vision. The opportunity to align MGM’s legendary history with Amazon is a stimulating combination ».