Amazon acquires MGM, the 007 production company, for $8.45 billion

Amazon and MGM have signed an acquisition agreement, under which Amazon will acquire MGM for $8.45 billion.

It is reported that this will be the second largest acquisition in Amazon's history, second only to the company's $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017. Amazon said it hopes to use MGM's long history of film production to help strengthen its film and television division, Amazon Studios.

MGM is the production company of the "007" film series, with more than 4,000 films and more than 17,000 TV series. It also owns the Epix cable TV channel and has produced popular programs such as "The Handmaid's Tale", "Fargo", "Vikings" and "Shark Tank".

Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Amazon Studios, said, "MGM has a vast film and television library with more than 4,000 films and more than 17,000 hours of TV series. The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of intellectual property in the deep film and television library, and we plan to reimagine and develop this content with the excellent team at MGM. This is very exciting and provides many opportunities for high-quality storytelling."