Amazon in talks to buy Hollywood studio MGM for $9bn

Amazon is in talks to acquire MGM, the Hollywood studio behind the James Bond and Rocky franchises, for $9bn (£6.3bn) in the latest deal to secure “crown jewel” content in the global battle for streaming supremacy.

MGM, which put itself up for sale in December, is one of the few Hollywood studios with evergreen, must-watch franchises not to have been snapped up in the recent wave of huge mergers and acquisitions in the media industry.

The studio has explored a sale several times over the last few years. In January last year it held preliminary talks with Netflix and Apple, among others, but price proved to be a stumbling block.

However, the streaming wars continue to fuel huge inflation in the prices willing to be paid for premium content with the guaranteed ability to attract millions of viewers. Proven global franchises are becoming increasingly scarce and, as a result, rocketing in value.

MGM owns a library of 4,000 film titles and 17,000 hours of TV programming, from Gone With the Wind and The Hobbit to TV hits such as The Handmaid’s Tale. It made $1.5bn in revenues and $33m in profit last year.

While the studio, which was forced into bankruptcy a decade ago after running up a $4bn debt, has developed new franchises such as Rocky spin-off Creed, starring Michael B Jordan, its crown jewel remains the evergreen, 59-year-old James Bond franchise.

MGM explored the potential of releasing the next film in the spy franchise – Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007 in No Time to Die – on a digital streaming service while cinemas remained shut during the pandemic. However, offers on the table could not match the income from the global box office if cinemagoing can return to near normal levels.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/movies/amazon-in-talks-to-buy-hollywood-studio-mgm-for-249bn/ar-BB1gSR1R