(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com Inc. won unconditional approval from the European Union for its plan to buy the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie company for $8.45 billion, a bet that a nearly century-old Hollywood icon can feed an insatiable demand for streaming content.
The deal poses no competition problems in the 27-nation EU, the bloc’s commission said in an emailed statement Tuesday.
The proliferation of streaming services, including newer arrivals such as HBO Max and Disney+, has put pressure on Amazon to acquire more programming. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made no secret of his desire to get into movies, and MGM’s vast backlog provides an abundance of streaming material, not to mention an opportunity to mine the iconic James Bond and Rocky franchises for new films and television shows.
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“We’re pleased with the commission’s decision and, with MGM, look forward to providing more choice of quality entertainment for viewers,” Amazon said in an emailed statement.
(Updates with company comment in last paragraph. An earlier version of the story corrected the title of Amazon’s founder.)
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