Amazon closes $8.5 billion acquisition of James Bond studio MGM

It's official: the almost 100-year old studio behind the James Bond franchise has been purchased by Amazon.

Amazon announced Thursday its $8.5 billion acquisition of the film and TV studio MGM has closed, less than one year after it was first announced, Variety reports. MGM is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood and was founded in 1924. Its catalog includes franchises like James Bond and Rocky, as well as classic films like The Silence of the Lambs.

The announcement comes after the deadline for the Federal Trade Commission to challenge Amazon's acquisition recently passed, according to Axios. The European Commission gave the acquisition the green light, saying it would "not significantly reduce competition," that there's "limited" overlap between the companies, and that MGM's "content cannot be considered as must-have."

With the acquisition closed, Amazon said Thursday MGM has officially joined Prime Video and Amazon Studios, and it welcomed the studio's employees to the company.

Amazon previously said the "real financial value" behind the deal would be "the treasure trove of [intellectual property] in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop." MGM's library consists of over 4,000 films and 17,000 television episodes, the company says.

Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, though, has said the franchise's films will continue being released in movie theaters.

"[Amazon] certainly have told us that the films will be theatrical films in the future," Broccoli said, per Deadline. "And we'll see what happens."

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