New York (AFP)

James Bond, Rocky ... More than 4,000 films will pass under the banner of Amazon after the acquisition for 8.45 billion dollars of the almost century-old Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, way for the American ogre of the commerce in line to compete with Netflix in streaming.

This takeover "is very exciting and it offers a lot of great story opportunities to tell," said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, in a statement.

It is the second most expensive acquisition in Amazon history after buying US supermarkets Whole Foods for $ 13.7 billion in 2017.

In addition to more than 4,000 films including the saga of Agent 007, Robocop, Basic Instinct, Raging Bull and Thelma & Louise, Amazon will take control of a vast catalog of series, including The Handmaid's Tale, Fargo and Vikings.

“The real financial value of this deal is the full catalog intellectual property treasure that we plan to reinvent and develop with the talented team at MGM,” adds Mike Hopkins.

Through this takeover, the American giant founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos is strengthening its content for its streaming service Amazon Prime Video, the mother of battles in the world of entertainment subject to ruthless competition between services.

To gain subscribers and market share, streaming platforms are forced to invest heavily in content, like Netflix which could spend $ 17 billion this year, or try to grow through acquisitions.

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Although it has seen its growth slow down due to the gradual reopening of economies in favor of a drop in Covid-19 contaminations, Netflix dominates the sector by claiming at the end of April 208 million paying subscribers worldwide.

Disney platforms (Disney +, ESPN +, Hulu) recorded 159 million in early April.

Amazon had for its part in mid-April more than 200 million users of its premium service, which provides access to free and fast deliveries and to its streaming platform.

- The Lord of the Rings -

The American giant which weighs more than 1.600 billion dollars on the stock market has already launched costly acquisitions in recent years with the television rights to "The Lord of the Rings", the cult fantasy saga of JRR Tolkien, for 250 million dollars.

Amazon intends to make it a multi-season series.

He also entered the sporting breach, with the purchase of exclusive rights to the NFL in the United States, but also Wimbledon and the US Open in the United Kingdom.

In France, the giant has acquired part of the rights to Roland Garros for this year and the two to come.

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The announcement of the MGM takeover comes against a backdrop of brutal consolidation movements in recent days.

The telecommunications giant AT&T announced in mid-May the merger of its subsidiary WarnerMedia with Discovery, which offer the streaming services HBO MAX and Discovery + respectively.

The value of mergers or acquisitions in the media and entertainment industry this year is the highest since 2000, with $ 232 billion according to data provider Refinitiv, almost seven times higher than last year's level in the same era.

This absorption is also the latest in a long series for Hollywood studios, after notably that of Warner Bros. by AT&T, Universal by Comcast, and Paramount by ViacomCBS.

Like many American movie studios, MGM has suffered greatly from the Covid-19 pandemic and the prolonged closure of movie theaters around the world.

Initially expected in theaters in March 2020, James Bond's latest opus, "No Time To Die", has thus seen its release postponed several times and should finally be screened in theaters from September 30.

The press had mentioned at the end of 2020 the fact that MGM was looking for a buyer.

© 2021 AFP