ATT has sealed the deal to buyTime Warner in a major piece of media and technology consolidation.The deal — which is$85.4 billion and a total of $108 billion with debt — was first announced in October 2016and, having passed a court approval earlier this week, it was completed on Thursday.That a long cycle to complete a transaction, but this is a complicated one that sees ATT take control of Time Warner, as well asHBO, Warner Brother film studio and its Turner channels.
That likely to create a complicated web of conflicts, as both media distribution and content creation come together under the same parent.&The content and creative talent at Warner Bros., HBO and Turner are first-rate.
Combine all that with ATT strengths in direct-to-consumer distribution, and we offer customers a differentiated, high-quality, mobile-first entertainment experience,& Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO of ATT, said in a statement.
&We&re going to bring a fresh approach to how the media and entertainment industry works for consumers, content creators, distributors and advertisers.&Netflix and Alphabet will need to become ISPs, fastThe deal is vital for ATT.
The firm said it expects to save$2.5 billion in &synergies& and return to significant revenue growth within four years.
For a snapshot, ATT new look business — which will include Time Warner and Turner — generated some$31 billion last year alone.This week court decision followed a government antitrust suit to block the deal on the grounds that the vertical merger — a term for whencompanies that provide different or complementary offerings join forces — could harm consumers, particularly on price.
The deal was dubbed the antitrust case of the decade, and it was the first time a court has adjudicated over a vertical merger since cell phones were invented, and thus changed the media and distribution landscape.Now done, ATT-Time Warner has opened the gate for other mega media deals.
This week, Comcast launched a $65 billion bid for Fox, setting up a battle with Disney which bid $52.4 billion in December.Disclosure: TechCrunch is owned by Oath, a digital media subsidiary of Verizon which competes with Comcast and ATT.