US: Amazon bidding for LionsGate?

Amazon is reportedly sniffing around a major movie and TV production house, amid its rapidly growing expansion plans in the streaming video space.

As Deadline reports, the tech titan has expressed interest in acquiring LionsGate, although it’ll face substantial competition in the process:

We hear of interest in Lionsgate from both the nation’s largest telecommunications company, Verizon, which has been bulking up its mobile video offerings through deals like the one announced today with the NBA; and technology giant Amazon, which has invested billions to create original content for its Amazon Prime service including this year’s Golden Globe-winning comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

We understand that Lionsgate, CBS and Viacom may also be evaluating a scenario that would combine the three.

LionsGate itself has been an acquirer as of late. The company purchased the Starz premium cable channel back in 2016 for US$4.4 billion, a move that likely spurred substantial interest from suitors for LionsGate.

For now, the discussions are in the preliminary stages, but it appears Amazon is indeed serious about its ambitions to acquire a treasure trove of video content like the one LionsGate has.

Full Content: Deadline

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