Amazon wins EU antitrust decision over $8.5 billion MGM takeover

Author: Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Amazon won unconditional approval from the European Union’s antitrust watchdog on Tuesday for its proposed $8.5 billion takeover of U.S. film studio MGM, a move that will help it better compete with streaming rivals Netflix and Disney+.

The European Commission said the deal would not cause competition problems in Europe, confirming a March 9 Reuters report.

The EU competition watchdog said it had investigated the audiovisual content overlaps between Amazon and MGM and found that their combined market shares were low and that there were strong rivals.

“The addition of MGM content to Amazon’s Prime Video offering will not have a significant impact on Amazon’s position as a marketplace service provider,” the Commission said.

Analysts say the deal will improve Amazon’s video streaming service and attract people to Amazon Prime subscriptions, which offer fast shipping and encourage consumers to shop more often.

MGM owns the rights to the James Bond film, one of the highest-grossing franchises in film history, grossing nearly $7 billion in theaters worldwide.

(Report: Foo Yun Chee)