Amazon purchased some assets, not whole MX Player
A week after e4m report on MX Player’s acquisition by Amazon, the US tech major has shared its side of the story
After months of speculation over MX Player’s acquisition by Amazon, it has now emerged that the US major has purchased some assets of MX Player, not the entire company.
Amazon sources told e4m, “Amazon has signed an agreement to purchase some assets from MX Player. The transaction is not yet complete.”
Details of the assets that are being acquired are not immediately clear.
e4m reported on May 29 that Amazon has finally closed the deal to acquire MX Player. This is the second attempt by the company to buy the Times Internet-owned OTT platform. As reported by e4m first, Amazon tried to seal the deal in March last year, but the talks failed back then.
According to sources, the size of the deal is $30-40 million, about ¼ of the value on which Times Internet Limited had purchased it. Once the buying process is complete, the MX Player team will join Amazon's Mini TV, sources said.
When asked about the development, an Amazon spokesperson said, “We are always looking for ways to introduce new products and services that help improve customers’ lives. We’re excited to continue to entertain India with the great local originals and exclusive content available across our Prime Video and miniTV services in India.”
The background
In 2018, Times Internet surprised the world by acquiring MX Player for an estimated sum of $140 million or Rs 1,000 crore.
The move was considered as a bold one by the Times group, especially since the company’s previous OTT venture—BoxTV.com—had shut down in 2016, after four years of existence.
MX Player, one of the largest OTT platforms in India in 2022, was put on sale exactly four years ago as it became a burden for the company.
