The settlement was announced a day after being sued by the Washington, DC attorney general, who said the online retailer is engaging in anti-competitive conduct that leads to higher prices for consumers. The case, the government’s first antitrust lawsuit against Amazon in the US, opened a new front in the regulatory attack on the tech industry.
Amazon.com Inc.’s takeover of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer sparked fresh criticism of the tentacles of U.S. tech giants, but the deal highlights how antitrust watchdogs have their hands tied when it comes to slowing down. the growth of companies.
Critics of tech firms in Washington singled out the agreement with MGM as yet another example of how major industry players are taking over companies to expand their reach, even as they face a series of antitrust lawsuits and measures from Congress to limit their reach. can.
For more information: Amazon agrees to purchase MGM for US $ 8.45 billion
“Another day. Another mega-merger, ”tweeted Democratic Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, who led extensive research on Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet and Apple. “Amazon’s proposed purchase of MGM reinforces what we already know: they are focused on expanding and consolidating their monopoly power.”
Amazon announced the MGM settlement a day after being sued by the Washington, DC attorney general, who said the online retailer is engaging in anti-competitive conduct that leads to higher prices for consumers. The case, the government’s first antitrust lawsuit against Amazon in the US, opened a new front in the regulatory attack on the tech industry.
The MGM deal represents a first test of the Biden Administration’s antitrust agenda. The president has yet to nominate an assistant attorney general to head the Justice Department’s antitrust division, which would likely review the deal with MGM.
For those concerned about the relentless growth of the biggest tech companies, the MGM acquisition could highlight how antitrust law falls short, said Sam Weinstein, who teaches antitrust at the Cardozo School of Law in New York. Based on traditional antitrust analysis, which would look at whether Amazon will gain massive market power in film and television content, the deal with MGM is highly likely to be approved by regulators, he said.
“If we are really concerned about the size of a company, just how big it is, not because it is creating a monopoly in a particular market, this acquisition will upset, and the antitrust laws, as they are currently constituted, are not designed to tackle something like this, ”Weinstein said.
Follow the news of El Espectador on Google NewsAmazon is the second largest paid streaming service in the world after Netflix Inc. With the acquisition of MGM, it will incorporate more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 television shows, including “Rocky,” “RoboCop” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
But the combination leaves many studios competing to produce content. MGM doesn’t rank in the top five in Hollywood by box office participation: Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Group Corp., and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Then there’s Netflix, which produces its own content for its streaming service. broadcast, including hits like “Bridgerton,” “Stranger Things” and “The Queen’s Gambit.”
That does not prevent criticism of the acquisition.
“By acquiring MGM Studios, Amazon is openly trying to take over another sector of the economy,” said Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, an antitrust organization in Washington. “Congress should respond quickly by passing bipartisan legislation to prohibit mergers of large technology companies.”
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On Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a fierce critic of technology platforms, said on Twitter that Amazon is a monopoly that “shouldn’t be able to buy anything else. Point”.
“This is a large acquisition that has the potential to impact millions of consumers,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who chairs the Senate antitrust panel. “The Department of Justice must conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that there is no risk that this agreement will harm competition.”
The $ 8.45 billion deal with MGM is Amazon’s second-largest acquisition after Whole Foods Market Inc., the supermarket chain that Amazon bought for about $ 13.7 billion in 2017. That deal received the green light from antitrust officials at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission without a detailed investigation.
With the purchase of Whole Foods, Amazon was entering a market in which it was not a major player, so it did not raise concerns about competition. The MGM acquisition fits the same pattern, said Jennifer Rie, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, who anticipates the deal will be approved in the antitrust review. That will likely help secure support for antitrust legislation that will give authorities new tools to block deals, he said.
