back to article AT&T buys Time Warner for US$85.4bn or 1.25 Dell-EMCs

AT&T has agreed to acquire Time Warner for US$85.4bn. Time Warner is a content company that owns HBO, Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network, cable news channel CNN, celebrity gossip outfit TMZ.com, DC Comics, major sporting web sites and plenty of other brands. AT&T is the United States' leading mobile carrier, and also operates …

  1. Pen-y-gors

    Currency conversions

    "US$85.4bn or 1.25 Dell-EMCs" or about 3% of a Brexit. </trollbait>

  2. frank ly

    News speak

    "... will allow new company to: ..."

    All videos, no articles.

  3. Efros

    Feeling here

    is that it will probably go through, despite The Donald's objections, with a few conditions. It'll be interesting to see what goes on here, apart from the administrative side of things the businesses do not overlap at all.

    1. Simon Sharwood, Reg APAC Editor (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Feeling here

      It's always the accountants who feel nervous after a merger ...

      1. a_yank_lurker

        Re: Feeling here

        The backend admin staff usually has the most functional overlap between merged companies once the backend processes are harmonized. So the beancounters should be worried.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not sure it's going to be worse than now. Maybe we'll be able to watch HBO shows without having a US cable contract.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      "Not sure it's going to be worse than now. Maybe we'll be able to watch HBO shows without having a US cable contract."

      The downside is probably that those with a US cable contract might then have to take out yet another subscription if some of the shows they want to see are restricted to AT&Ts own outlets.

      We already see this now with Amazon and Netflix. Fragmentation of the market caused by the distributors becoming the content providers/owners/creators is only ever bad (and more costly) for the customer.

  5. Blotto Silver badge

    I thought they did a bit more than just mobile but.......

    Company with ambition and deep pockets buys other company to grow revenue and bolster position against competitors.

    Nothing by to see here.

  6. joed

    free market

    and competition. Not.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bad idea

    At a certain point, the power of a company becomes a threat. This deal should not be allowed.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Me too! Me too!

    Comcast and Verizon have media properties, so we should too!

    Yet more penis measuring contests.

  9. Tom 64
    WTF?

    Where on earth did they get the cash?

    80 Bln is a lot of dollars. How much of that is in loans? Did they find it down the back of the sofa? Or is it simply a product of under-investment in infrastructure and profit gouging for a decade or so?

    I was under the impression the telco business had wafer thin margins!

    1. ma1010
      Megaphone

      Re: Where on earth did they get the cash?

      AT&T overcharges for everything. They always have. They are experts at padding bills. That's why I don't use them anymore. My phone/Internet is from a small company that makes a small profit off me whereas AT&T provided the same services for $30 more a month, every month. Multiply that by a hundred million or more and see where it gets you.

    2. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Where on earth did they get the cash?

      at&t practically invented cramming.

      Where do you think they got that money?

  10. joshimitsu

    Why does it seems like TimeWarner can't make up their mind about owning a telecoms company: First the merger with AOL (dialup, somehow didn't keep up with the broadband era), then spun out TimeWarner Cable, then a new merger with AT&T, who cover cable, landline as well as mobile.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Haven't we seen this before?

    It didn't work very well fifteen years ago. But perhaps everyone's forgotten that, and there are fees and bonuses to be earned, so...

  12. ecofeco Silver badge

    I reminded of Sony

    I'm reminded of Sony when they bought Columbia Pictures for the distribution rights to their entire collection and it's been a ball and chain and mixed blessing for them ever since and seriously impacts their annual budget every year.

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