Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy MGM Studios for $9 billion.
Citing sources close to the matter, Variety reports that the purported deal is being set up by senior vice president of Amazon Studios and Prime Video Mike Hopkins and MGM board chairman Kevin Ulrich, who leads the company’s major shareholder, Anchorage Capital.
In December, Variety had reported that MGM was looking for a potential buyer. At the time, the company reportedly had a valuation of $5.5 billion, including its debt. MGM claims to have one of the “deepest libraries” of film and television content. It currently holds several notable media franchises, including James Bond, Legally Blonde, The Handmaid’s Tale and the “Real Housewives” reality television series.
In the first quarter of 2021, MGM reported an income of $403.3 million with a net income of $29.3 million, marking an increase over last year.
Variety notes that media represents a small portion of Amazon’s business empire, but the company has invested more into it in recent years. In 2020, Amazon increased its spending on television and moves to $11 billion, a 40 percent increase from the previous year.
Amazon has indicated that it is looking to expand user engagement on Prime Videos, the streaming service included in Amazon Prime subscriptions, and adding MGM’s media properties will likely help in that endeavor.