AT&T Aims to Buy Time Warner for $84.5 Billion
Ma Bell is back and bigger than ever! Telecom giant AT&T has made a bid to acquire Time Warner Inc. for $85.4 billion in cash and stock. Note that while this deal would give AT&T ownership of HBO, Turner Broadcasting, and Warner Brothers, it doesn’t include Time Warner Cable, which is now owned by Charter Communications and is being rebranded as Spectrum. AT&T is likely trying to place itself on an even content footing with Comcast, which purchased NBCUniversal in 2011. However, with U.S. politicians from both sides of the aisle speaking out against the merger, it’s unclear if federal regulators will approve the deal.
I have a hard time believing that this deal will get approved. It sounds like AT&T has some great ideas to start off, but we all know that owning the entire "content" widget doesn't end well for the consumer.