Amazon Nears Deal to Buy Hollywood Studio MGM

Amazon.com Inc. is nearing a deal to buy the Hollywood studio MGM Holdings for almost $9 billion, said people familiar with the matter, a pact that would turn a film operation founded in the silent era into a streaming asset for the e-commerce giant.

An agreement could be announced as early as this week, people close to the situation said, assuming the talks don’t fall apart at the last minute.

The deal would mark Amazon’s second-largest acquisition in history, behind its $13.7 billion deal for Whole Foods in 2017, and highlight the premium that content is commanding as streaming wars force consolidation and drive bigger players to bulk up with assets that help them compete.

The privately traded MGM was valued around $5.5 billion, including debt, last December. Its stock price has soared in recent days, from about $105 a share in mid-May, before talks were reported, to roughly $140 a share Monday morning.

The fabled movie and TV studio has long been considered in play, but hired investment banks LionTree LLC and Morgan Stanley late last year to begin a formal process.