It may be a while before Amazon can acquire film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The overseeing Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will investigate the takeover extensively, insiders say to Reuters news agency.
At the end of May, it was announced that Amazon had bought MGM for $8.5 billion. According to Amazon, the nearly 100-year-old film studio could play an essential role in the high demand for streaming content.
The web store group already has its own video streaming service with Prime Video. As a result, it can take months for the regulator to make a judgment. Tech website The Information was the first to report on the FTC’s extensive investigation.
Amazon has been clashing more often with the FTC lately. For example, the tech company announced at the end of June that it wants chairman Lina Khan not to interfere with investigations into Amazon.
To this end, the company submitted a petition to the regulator. Khan should apologize because she has said several times earlier in her career that Amazon is violating competition law and should be chopped up into multiple companies.
According to Amazon, those statements “lead to the clear impression that she has already made up her mind”. The company states that every company has the right to an honest investigation by unbiased investigators. The FTC declined to respond to Amazon’s call and allegation of bias.