Apple eyeing big content acquisition, MGM on target list
24-Sep-2019 • Bond News
Financial analysts are predicting that Apple is about to make a "big acquisition" in the content space as they launch their new streaming subscription service, and MGM is likely to be on the shortlist of targets.
MGM owns 50% of the James Bond film franchise. The other half is controlled by Danjaq. An acquisition of MGM would give the new owner a partnership to produce and monetize the James Bond series.
Analyst Dan Ives told Yahoo Finance: "It’s a content arms race. Right now, Apple has built a house, they’ve priced it accordingly. They need to fill it with content and we think that’s going to be the next trick up the sleeve for Cook in terms of bigger M&A. We think a big acquisition is on the horizon.”
The list of suspected targets (in order) are: A24 Studio, Lionsgate, Viacom/CBS [CBS], Sony Pictures, MGM Studios, Netflix, and then a potential gaming publisher (that could be incorporated into Apple’s streaming service or a separate gaming subscription service) as a wild card.
MGM has a massive film and television library that would be valuable to any service, so much so that MGM paid $1b in 2017 to take sole ownership of their Epix cable channel.
