Amazon is said to be near to clinching a deal to buy MGM for close to $9 billion following a spate of reports last week that the two sides were seriously talking about a combination.
An agreement could be announced as early as this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, if talks don’t break down. CNBC said it could come as early as Tuesday.
MGM was valued around $5.5 billion including debt last last year. It trades on the OTC market and its stock price has soared in recent days, from about $105 a share in mid-May, before talks were reported, to $140 a share this morning.
The studio is owned by a group of investors led by Anchorage Capital many of whom have held their stakes since MGM emerged from bankruptcy in 2012. It been the subject of perennial takeover speculation.
Amazon-MGM Deal: Deadline’s Complete Coverage
A deal would the second large merger in the media space this month. AT&T just agreed to spin off WarnerMedia to Discovery for billion.
The deal would give Amazon a vast library for its streaming Prime Video Platform and IP like James Bond. As Deadline reported Friday, sources say the e-commerce giant’s absorption of the Lion studio won’t derail the MGM theatrical releases already scheduled for this year, as distributed by United Artists Releasing. Theatrical P&A budgets for the MGM/UAR slate have been locked, is what we hear.
Prime Video is a driver for Amazon Prime, which is a key engine of growth for the company.
Reps for MGM and Amazon weren’t immediately available for comment.
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