Posted January 09, 2018 12:00:50Amazon is acquiring U.K. media giant Vizio for $50 million, marking a major step toward the company’s takeover of the nation’s biggest media company.
Vizio, whose U.N. headquarters are in London, was founded in 2004 and is best known for producing BBC and ITV programmes.
Visio has been struggling financially since 2016, with the company having to borrow heavily to prop up its operations.
The acquisition of Vizio comes as Amazon has struggled to keep up with the rise in mobile device usage, especially in the United States.
The company is also working to develop a cloud-based video platform for entertainment.
Last year, Amazon acquired the digital entertainment company Viacom.
Vicarious, a New York-based company that has been working on a television and movie streaming platform for Amazon, is also acquiring Vizio.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
The U.SK Group, which has been the parent company of the U.KS television network, was part of the initial group to buy Vizio, but it later withdrew.
It said the deal would be subject to shareholder approval.
The transaction comes after the UCL Group, the parent of the London Evening Standard newspaper, bought U.A.S., the UTV group, the London-based broadcaster Sky, and the UStream television service, among others.