Amazon Agrees to Purchase Some Assets of MX Player in $100 Million Deal: Report

Amazon agreed to buy some assets of video streaming platform MX Player from Times Internet on Wednesday, according to a report. The first mention of such a deal appeared in 2023, when the e-commerce giant entered into talks with the Tencent-backed company, but it almost fell through. In May, it was reported that talks between the two sides resumed again, and there was a possible deal. The deal has now reportedly been agreed for a sum of less than $100 million.

Amazon buys some MX Player assets

TechCrunch, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that Amazon and Times Internet had agreed to a deal that would allow the retail giant to buy some assets but not the video streaming platform in its entirety. After this deal, Amazon gets a “distribution and marketing partner” that could help the company become “more popular and reliable” for people in smaller cities.

MX Player was originally developed by South Korean developer J2 Interactive (now MX Media and Entertainment) as a video player for the mobile platform. However, it later evolved into a full-featured yet ad-supported video streaming platform with options such as offline streaming, background playback, and more.

In 2018, Times Internet bought a majority stake in the platform for $140 million.

According to a report from Inc42, it's an all-cash deal for a reported $100 million, which is even less than the $110.8 million it had raised in a funding round led by Chinese conglomerate Tencent in 2019. At that time, MX Player was rated. to 500 million dollars.

“We're always looking for ways to introduce new products and services that help make customers' lives better,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “We are excited to continue to entertain India with great local originals and exclusive content available on our Prime Video and miniTV services in India.”

Inc42 further reported that following the completion of this deal, MX Player's senior management will join Amazon. A formal announcement of the deal is expected to come within a week.