Amazon’s proposed merger with MGM is facing a lengthier probe before the Federal Trade Commission, as lawmakers call for careful scrutiny of the $8.5 billion deal.
The Information, citing unnamed sources, reported on the FTC investigation and that its review could take six months or more. Reuters also confirmed the extended probe.
The FTC’s new chairwoman, Lina Khan, has been a critic of Amazon, authoring an article for the Yale Law Journal that called for looking beyond consumer welfare when looking at mergers. :As Amazon continues both to deepen its existing control over key infrastructure and to reach into new lines of business, its dominance demands the same scrutiny,” she wrote. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) recently sent a letter to Khan, calling on her to review the Amazon-MGM transaction broadly and determine “whether this vertical acquisition is truly an entertainment strategy or merely another step towards unfettered monopolization.”
The FTC has declined to comment on investigations. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.
But the company has made its case for the government’s greenlight by pointing to other much larger transactions that have been approved, including The Walt Disney Co.’s acquisition of many of the Fox assets in 2018. Amazon also points to other major studios that have launched streaming services, including Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and HBOMax.