What happened to the All-Star Antitrust Team? James Bond and an assortment of other blockbuster classics will be available on Amazon. Despite reports of a months-long Federal Trade Commission investigation, the deal marks Amazon's second most expensive acquisition after Whole Foods.
MGM will join Prime Video and Amazon Studios. Amazon will add MGM's vast catalog of more than 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows to its own offerings, beefing up its library in combat over content with other players in streaming TV. The Pink Panther, Silence of the Lambs, and the TV series Fargo are some of MGM's most recognizable intellectual property.
Prime Video and Amazon Studios share the same commitment to delivering a broad slate of original films and television shows to a global audience.
The deal marks a huge win for Amazon in its quest for content, but it also reignites criticism from consumer advocacy groups and corporate accountability groups.
Krista Brown of the American Economic Liberties Project said that the MGM deal is the latest in an unprecedented wave of massive mergers that has increased prices across the country and strained antitrust enforcement.
Amazon's path to this point was littered with potential regulatory minefields. The European Commission approved the deal after a months-long investigation. The commission concluded that the deal would not raise competition concerns in the European Economic Area. During the process, Amazon sent a 25-page motion to the FTC asking them to remove the Chair from antitrust investigations due to her previous statements critical of Amazon.
It's not clear what the investigation found. Amazon forced the FTC's hand by certifying that it had provided all the information requested by investigators. According to The Wall Street Journal, that triggered a mid-March deadline for the FTC to decide whether or not to file a lawsuit.
An FTC spokesman told Gizmodo that further action was not necessarily off the table, but wouldn't elaborate on details of the investigation.
The Commission does not approve transactions and may challenge a deal at any time if it is found to be in violation of the law. These letters warn merging parties that their transactions are under investigation and that they should be careful.
Amazon declined to comment on the record.
The acquisition deal drew a lot of scrutiny when it was announced. A coalition of advocacy organizations sent a letter to Khan four months later, urging her to block the deal which they argued would entrench Amazon's one-sided information advantage over other businesses.
The general public seems to share those concerns as well. The Tech Oversight Project shared a poll that 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266
The MGM deal did pass despite the fact that there was support for more regulatory action and an administration that was full of eager antitrust crusaders. That is just more of the same. Mergers and acquisitions reached a record pace in the year, with over 1,100 deals worth at least $100 million each. If you thought Amazon's purchase broke the bank, keep in mind this year Microsoft is interested in acquiring video game maker Activision for an estimated $68.7 billion.
What is next? The American Economic Liberties Project said that the FTC still has the ability to block any merger they find to be illegal before or after the deal is complete. The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission would be able to block mergers worth more than $5 billion under new legislation proposed this week. Time is running out for Democrats and the Biden Administration to act on their antitrust promises.
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