The Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Amazon's merger with MGM. The assessment is projected to take six months or more. Amazon announced that it had reached a deal to acquire MGM, the studio behind the James Bond franchise, for $8.45 billion on 26th May. Still, it was widely expected that the merger would receive extra scrutiny from the government.
The FTC has issued a second request in its review of the transaction, revealing that its final ruling may take time to draft, following the appointment of its new Chairwoman, Lina Khan. Amazon requested Khan’s recusal from cases related to the company, citing comments she previously made, accusing it of violating antitrust laws, seeking to destroy its business operations.
US senator Elizabeth Warren recently said that agency should carry out a “meticulous” assessment in a letter addressed to Khan. The decision was also influenced by President Joe Biden's recent decision to sign an executive order to promote competition via a “whole-of-government effort to promote competition in the American economy”, charging the Department of Justice and the FTC to “enforce the antitrust laws vigorously," further highlighting major tech companies.
The FTC responded with a statement that “the current guidelines deserve a hard look to determine whether they are overly permissive” and that it planned, with the DoJ, to “jointly launch a review of our merger guidelines to update them to reflect a rigorous analytical approach consistent with applicable law”. Amazon declined to comment.
Related News
