The Clap
Amazon announced the completion of its $8.5 billion acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios.
That’s a big acquisition
Do you know that roaring lion at the beginning of blockbuster movies like “Rocky” & “James Bond”? Yeah, that image up there. That’s MGM studios, home to more than 4,000 film titles & 25,000+ hours of streaming.
The acquisition is Amazon’s second-biggest ever, after buying Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion. Amazon hopes the move puts Prime Video up there with Disney+ & Netflix.
What you need to know
The acquisition was agreed upon last May but only closed yesterday. Regulators have been cracking down on big tech companies because they’re simply able to acquire their competition, which could be harmful to consumers.
Amazon, for example, has previously acquired smaller startups it perceived as a threat, including footwear seller Zappos & streaming platform Twitch. However, European regulators greenlit the deal, while the deadline for U.S. regulators passed to challenge the deal.
