Following the $8.5 billion sale of MGM to Amazon, two town hall meetings were held Friday, the first with MGM employees and the second with Amazon Studios and Prime Video staffers. Both led by Amazon Studios and Prime Video SVP Mike Hopkins detailed a new organization structure: MGM Motion Picture Group Chairman Michael De Luca, Worldwide TV Group Chairman Mark Burnett and the studio’s COO Christopher Brearton will report to Hopkins. Amazon Studios chief Jen Salke will continue to report to Hopkins separately. Overall, there was no indication of any potential layoffs, including MGM’s sister distribution/marketing arm United Artists Releasing, and there was no option for employees of either company to ask questions.
Amazon on Thursday announced that it had closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM. But the deal may not be out of the regulatory woods yet. The Federal Trade Commission, asked about its review of the Amazon-MGM announcement, noted that the agency has the latitude to file a legal challenge even after the parties have closed a transaction.
“Amazon joins MGM,” Amazon said Thursday as the $8.5 billion deal announced last May closesd. “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, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. “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.”
The online shopping giant said last year that it was buying MGM in a $8.45 billion deal aimed at bulking up its video streaming service with more content to watch.VThe European Commission said its investigation found the deal “would not significantly reduce competition” in European markets, including for movie and TV production, wholesale supply of TV channels and retail supply of “audiovisual services.”
The FTC is set to decide over the next few weeks whether to bring an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon’s planned merger with MGM. The $8.45 billion deal was announced last May, around the same time as WarnerMedia-Discovery. The latter merger has the DOJ’s blessing and is on track to close early in the second quarter. But regulators put Amazon on notice last July that they were investigating its acquisition of the storied studio.
