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There are rumours that Amazon is exploring a purchase of ailing cinema company AMC. Earlier in the week, the AMC share price was up 21% over two days in anticipation of an offer.
Why would Amazon want a clapped out movie house operator like AMC? Prime Video continues to ramp up, with the goal of releasing 10 to 15 movies a year. Owning a cinema chain would allow them to simultaneously launch new pictures on big screen, creating more buzz. Maybe Amazon plans to give Prime members cheap access to movies as another perk to signing up? Imagine going to the movies weekly to watch their Lord of the Rings series.
They could close unprofitable cinema locations and use them as distribution centres. How about placing an order on Amazon, going to watch a movie, and having your parcel waiting for you when you get out?
All of this is just loose speculation. Nothing materialised from similar rumours doing the rounds in 2021. Amazon would need to spend around $8 billion to buy AMC, which seems very expensive, given the current cost-cutting environment. Probably just wishful thinking by some AMC shareholders.
