Amazon’s Most Notable Acquisitions To Date
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The Briefing
- Amazon plans to acquire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) for $8.45 billion
- This move would add 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows to Amazon Studios’ content library
Amazon’s Most Notable Acquisitions To Date
Big Tech just keeps getting bigger.
On May 26, 2021, Amazon announced its plan to acquire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios for $8.45 billion, making it the company’s second-largest acquisition to date.
Amazon has acquired multiple companies across a variety of sectors from healthcare to entertainment, helping diversify its core revenue. In total, the tech giant has acquired or invested in over 128 different companies over the last 20 years.
Top 10 Amazon Acquisitions by Value
In 2017, Amazon paid $13.7 billion to purchase Whole Foods Market—this remains the company’s largest acquisition to date.
The Whole Foods acquisition provided brick-and-mortar space for Amazon to sell some of its flagship devices, like the Echo Dot. It also allowed Amazon to gather valuable shopping data on its customers, to better understand their offline shopping preferences.
Here’s how Amazon’s top 10 acquisitions by value stack up in comparison:
| Rank | Company Acquired | Announced Date | Acquisition Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Whole Foods Market | Jun 16, 2017 | $13.7 billion |
| #2 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | May 26, 2021 | $8.5 billion |
| #3 | Zoox | Jun 26, 2020 | $1.2 billion |
| #4 | Zappos | Jul 22, 2009 | $1.2 billion |
| #5 | Ring | Feb 27, 2018 | $970 million |
| #6 | PillPack | Jun 28, 2018 | $839 million |
| #7 | Twitch | Aug 25, 2014 | $775 million |
| #8 | Kiva Systems | Mar 19, 2012 | $753 million |
| #9 | Souq | Mar 27, 2017 | $580 million |
| #10 | Quidsi | Nov 8, 2010 | $545 million |
Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, the purchase of robotaxi company Zoox was Amazon’s second-largest acquisition. According to their reported agreement, Amazon has the right to use Zoox’s transport technology for ride-hailing or logistics (delivery) services.
The acquisition of MGM will add 21,000 films and TV shows to Amazon’s content library, helping Amazon keep up with the fierce competition in the content streaming industry. MGM owns the rights to “The Handmaid’s Tale” series and “Shark Tank,” as well as the James Bond and Rocky franchises.
Full List: Amazon’s Most Notable Acquisitions
While far from exhaustive, here’s a look at some of Amazon’s most notable acquisitions since 1998, as shown in the graphic:
| Year | Company Acquired | Acquisition Value | Post-Acquisition Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | IMDb | $55,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 1999 | LiveBid.com | $300,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 1999 | PlanetAll | $280,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 1999 | Alexa Internet | $250,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 1999 | Junglee | $250,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2008 | Audible | $300,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 2009 | Zappos | $1,200,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 2010 | Quidsi | $545,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2011 | LoveFilm | $312,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2012 | Kiva Systems | $775,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2014 | Twitch Interactive | $970,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 2015 | Elemental Technologies | $500,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2015 | Annapurna Labs | $350,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2017 | Whole Foods Market | $13,700,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 2017 | Souq.com | $580,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2018 | Ring | $839,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 2018 | PillPack | $753,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 2019 | CloudEndure | $250,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2019 | Eero | $97,000,000 | Incorporated/defunct |
| 2020 | Zoox | $1,200,000,000 | Active under own name |
| 2021 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $8,450,000,000 | Active under own name |
Disclosure: None.
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