Almost a year after the announcement of the MGM takeover by Amazon, the EU competition authorities give their green light.
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Amazon wants to take over the James Bond studio MGM.
©MGM
This week, the EU Commission approved the planned takeover of the Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) by the Internet group Amazon. According to their own statements, the competition authorities have no competition law concerns about the takeover. This means that nothing stands in the way of the billion-euro deal, at least on the part of the EU. Conditions were not issued.
The green light from the FTC is still missing
In May 2021, Amazon and MGM reached an agreement in the takeover negotiations ( we reported ). Amazon wants to pay 8.45 billion US dollars (equivalent to 7 billion euros) for the entertainment company. In order for the takeover to become legally binding, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) still has to approve it.
Deadline for FTC expires
However, the FTC does not have much time to make this decision. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the agency has now received all the information requested from Amazon. According to the report, the FTC has until mid-March to file a lawsuit against the planned takeover. If the FTC doesn’t do that, Amazon can take over the Hollywood giant. The FTC can still file a lawsuit after the fact. However, this could result in a multi-year antitrust lawsuit. Until its final judgment, Amazon could complete the acquisition as planned.
Thousands of movies and series for Amazon
If the acquisition is approved, MGM’s content would give Amazon a distinct advantage in the streaming service competition. Founded in 1924, the studio owns the rights to more than 4,000 films and 17,000 series, including the James Bond series, the cult boxer series Rocky and this year’s Oscar-nominated drama Licorice Pizza Paul Thomas Anderson.
