Amazon has closed its acquisition of MGM, which it has purchased for $8.5 billion.
The closure on Thursday arrived after antitrust regulators in Europe gave the Big Tech company unconditional approval of the acquisition.
“We are excited for MGM and its bounty of iconic brands, legendary films, and television series and our incredible team and creative partners to join the Prime Video family,” MGM Chief Operating Officer Chris Brearton told Deadline.
Amazon now owns MGM Studios and its library of 4,000 films, 17,000 television episodes, and numerous awards. The studio will now be considered a subsidiary of Amazon Studios and Prime Video.
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While this will be a significant change for MGM, a spokesperson for Amazon told Deadline that the company does not intend to change any anticipated release dates and that there are no immediate changes to in-flight projects.
“MGM has a nearly century-long legacy of producing exceptional entertainment, and we share their commitment to delivering a broad slate of original films and television shows to a global audience,” said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios in a blog post. “We welcome MGM employees, creators, and talent to Prime Video and Amazon Studios, and we look forward to working together to create even more opportunities to deliver quality storytelling to our customers.”
Amazon also said it does not intend to make all MGM content exclusive to Amazon Prime. The Big Tech company also indicated that it plans to continue releasing films in theaters on a case-by-case basis. It does not intend to change anything about the studio’s most popular franchises, Rocky and James Bond.
The company merger has faced scrutiny since its announcement in May 2021, although antitrust regulators appear unphased by the decision. The Federal Trade Commission declined to block the merger, while the European Commission decided that the merger did not pose competition concerns in Europe.
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Amazon is separately facing a risk of an antitrust investigation after lawmakers sent a letter to the Department of Justice alleging that the Big Tech company had hindered and acted deceptively regarding its promotion of products through its search engine.
Representatives for Amazon did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
