So yeah, AT&T is officially buying Time Warner for $85.4 billion. There's more at the source, but here's a snippet to give you an idea what this is about:
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AT&T and Time Warner Inc. have made their rumored merger official, with AT&T to purchase the media company for $85.4 billion in cash and stock. The total transaction value is $108.7 billion when factoring in Time Warner's debt. AT&T's announcement Saturday evening listed some of the many media properties the company will own if the merger is allowed by US regulators. Time Warner Inc. has been completely separate from its former subsidiary, Time Warner Cable (now owned by Charter), since 2009. "Each of Time Warner’s three divisions is an industry leader: HBO, which consists of domestic premium pay television and streaming services (HBO Now, HBO Go), as well as international premium and basic pay television and streaming services; Warner Bros. Entertainment, which consists of television, feature film, home video and videogame production and distribution," AT&T said. "Warner Bros. film franchises include Harry Potter & DC Comics, and its produced TV series include Big Bang Theory and Gotham; Turner consists of US. and international basic cable networks, including TNT, TBS, CNN and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. Also, Turner has the rights to the NBA, March Madness and MLB. Time Warner also has invested in OTT [over-the-top] and digital media properties such as Hulu, Bleacher Report, CNN.com and Fandango." -- |
Source: Ars Technica
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That's a pretty big deal, I'd say. I'm not a fan of these huge mergers myself, because it concentrates so much everything into fewer and fewer hands. I also consider it harmful for competition because there will be less competing companies.
