U.S. regulators say no until deadline for appeal
Incorporated into the Prime Video division… No layoffs
FTC “If it is judged to be a violation of the law, we will raise an objection at any time”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was able to finalize the acquisition of MGM because the Federal Trade Commission, the US regulator, did not raise any objections until the deadline.
“Amazon has submitted more than 3 million documents to the FTC for review in the past eight months,” said an official familiar with the matter. The FTC declined to comment specifically about Amazons acquisition. However, an FTC official said, “If it is judged to be a violation of the law, you can raise an objection at any time,” the WSJ added.
Earlier on the 15th, the European Commissions antitrust regulator announced that it had approved Amazons acquisition of MGM as it judged that it would not significantly infringe the competition in the theater film and video content market.
With the acquisition of MGN, Amazon is expected to strengthen its competitiveness in the video streaming market. Amazon is offering an online video service called Prime Video. MGM, a leading Hollywood film company and producer of the 007 series, has over 4,000 movies and TV dramas.
MGM will be incorporated into the Prime Video and Amazon Studios businesses in the future, and will be overseen by Senior Vice President Mike Hopkins. Amazon has not announced any additional leadership for its MGN operations.
Amazon said in a statement that it welcomes all MGM employees and will work with the management of MGM Studios. Reuters interpreted it as implying that there would be no layoffs after the acquisition.
“MGM has a legacy of producing great entertainment for nearly 100 years,” said Hopkins Executive Vice President.
Amazon established Amazon Studios as a subsidiary in 2010 and has been producing original movies and dramas. In addition, according to the WSJ, Amazon is known to have signed an exclusive copyright contract with the American Professional Football League for about $1 billion per season for ‘Sunday Night Football’ last year to strengthen sports content.
