Amazon’s Most Notable Acquisitions to Date

by visualcapitalist

Most Notable Acquisitions by Amazon

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.

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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 rights 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:

»Like this? Then you might enjoy this full length article on the Biggest Tech Mergers and Acquisitions of 2020

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