Amazon buys MGM in Rs1,307b media deal

NEW YORK: Amazon is investing even more heavily in growing its position in the entertainment world. The company announced Wednesday that it made a deal to acquire MGM, the home of James Bond and one of the most iconic movie studios in Hollywood. The deal, which is valued at $8.45 billion (Rs1,307 billion), gives Amazon an extensive library of film and TV shows that it can use to fill out its Prime Video content coffers. MGM has a catalog with more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows, according to Mike Hopkins, who heads 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," he added. CEO Jeff Bezos said that Amazon is "really excited about MGM" during the company's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday. "The acquisitions thesis here is really very simple: MGM has a vast, deep catalog of much beloved intellectual property," Bezos said, "and with the talented people at MGM and the talented people at Amazon Studios, we can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21st century." The two companies said that the completion of the deal "is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions."