Reed Hastings says Netflix has ‘no big appetite, no big need’ for mergers (NFLX)

Ernesto S. Ruscio/Getty Images for Netflix

• Netflix hasn’t made many acquisitions to date, and doesn’t plan to go on a shopping spree now, CEO Reed Hastings said Tuesday.
• The company still has plenty of room to grow by just focusing on developing new shows and movies and improving its service, he said.
• Hastings’ comments follow some major Hollywood mergers, and come amid pressure on new player Apple to get in the game.
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Don’t expect Netflix to make any big acquisitions anytime soon.

That was the word from CEO Reed Hastings Tuesday on a webcast following the streaming media giant’s first-quarter earnings report. In its more than 20 years of existence, Netflix has only made a few minor acquisitions, he noted. It’s not planning on changing its ways now and getting more active in the mergers-and-acquisition market, he said.

"I don’t think investors have too much to worry about there," Hastings said. Netflix, he continued, has "no big appetite, no big need."

Hollywood has seen some big mergers of late. On Monday, Hulu announced that it had bought AT&T’s shares in the streaming company. Last month, Disney completed its purchase of 21st Century Fox. Last year, AT&T snapped up Time Warner.

Meanwhile, some analysts have been urging Apple, which is due to launch its own streaming media service later this year, to buy some studios or content producers to bulk up its library of movies and TV shows.

Read this: The ‘clock has struck midnight’ for Apple: It needs to buy a major Hollywood studio this year or lose the streaming war to Netflix and Amazon

But Hastings doesn’t think Netflix needs to play in that market. Despite being the largest streaming video service with 149 million paid subscribers worldwide, it has plenty of room to get bigger, he said.

"We’ve got clear sailing ahead," Hastings said. "If we can produce the world’s best content, if we can deliver it with the best user interface, then we can grow for many, many years ahead. So that’s what we’re focused on."

Netflix’s first-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, but it warned that its second-quarter subscriber growth would be slower than analysts expected. It also said it expected its operations and investments to burn through $3.5 billion in cash this year, about $500 million more than it previously projected. 

• Read more about Netflix’s earnings report:
• Netflix slides after beating Q1 subscriber growth estimates but giving weak guidance for the months ahead
• Netflix now expects to burn through $3.5 billion in cash this year. That’s about $500 million more than it previously forecast.
• Netflix won’t stop bragging about the millions of people who watch its mediocre original movies
• Netflix says ‘The Umbrella Academy’ was watched by 45 million households in the first month, and it’s been renewed for season 2

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SEE ALSO: Apple needs to get serious about video. Here are 3 Hollywood studios it could buy to boost its new streaming service.

Source: Business Insider – twolverton@businessinsider.com (Troy Wolverton)