The Federal Trade Commission is gearing up for a potential antitrust lawsuit challenging Amazon’s $8.5 billion takeover of MGM Studios by exploring actions including hiring expert witnesses to appear in an eventual trial, according to people familiar with the situation. The agency expects to decide whether to bring the case in the next few weeks, these people said.
Filing a lawsuit against the studio behind the “James Bond” franchise would fulfill a key objective of FTC Chair Lina Khan, a vocal critic of Amazon’s expanding power, and signal to the e-commerce conglomerate how difficult it will be to do any deals without running into regulatory pushback. But given the fierce level of competition in the streaming and content production industries, such a lawsuit could face long odds.
