A deal to sell the historic Hollywood studio behind James Bond, Rocky, The Wizard of Oz and Legally Blonde to Amazon is reported to be in its final stages.
The multi-billion-dollar sale of MGM Studios, which the Wall Street Journal reported could be finalised this week, would be the second largest acquisition in Amazon's history.
The sale is expected to be in the realm of $11.6 billion.
MGM was founded at the dawn of modern filmmaking, in 1920s Hollywood and was behind classic films such as Ben Hur, the Wizard of Oz and Rain Man.
It also owns the rights to TV shows like The Handmaid's Tale.
But one of its most lucrative pieces of intellectual property is the James Bond franchise, which has its 25th instalment, No Time To Die, due for release later this year.
The series' most recent release, Spectre, grossed $US880 million ($1.134 billion) globally.
Amazon's streaming service, Prime Video, is currently used by some 175 million people worldwide.
But the multi-billion-dollar acquisition of MGM would add weight to its competition against streaming giants such as Netflix.
Amazon has stretched further into the streaming space in recent years, signing a multi-billion-dollar deal with the US NFL for the exclusive rights to stream American football games.
Any deal could draw heightened scrutiny of Amazon, one of the big tech firms gaining unprecedented economic power in recent years.
Its growing influence has placed it in the crosshairs of antitrust enforcers around the world.
Neither Amazon nor MGM have commented on the reports.
ABC/AFP
