AT&T draws eye of Clinton with media merger
The latest US media mega-merger has prompted political concern.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wants US regulators to closely scrutinise telecoms giant AT&T’s $85.4bn (£69.7bn) proposed acquisition of Harry Potter and Batman film franchises owner Time Warner.
The companies’ bosses announced they had signed the deal late on Saturday night, which is expected to be the biggest corporate takeover of the year. The deal values Time Warner at a 20 per cent premium on its closing price on Friday.
Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said there were “a number of questions and concerns” about the deal “but there’s still a lot of information that needs to come out before any conclusions should be reached, certainly she thinks regulators should scrutinise it closely,” it was reported by Reuters.
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Meanwhile, Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, said he was “pro-competition” and that less “concentration” is “generally helpful”.
Before the deal was even confirmed Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump said he would block the tie-up because it would “destroy democracy”.
In a speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Trump said it would give the combined company “too much concentration of power”.
The deal has been called a “perfect match” by the boss of AT&T, while Time Warner chairman and chief executive Jeff Bewkes said it was a great day for Time Warner and its shareholders.
“This is a perfect match of two companies with complementary strengths who can bring a fresh approach to how the media and communications industry works for customers, content creators, distributors, and advertisers,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive.
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The merger isn’t the first time a US distributor and content provider have teamed up.
In 2011 the US Department of Justice approved the acquisition of NBCUniversal by Comcast. Comcast bough General Electric’s stake in NBCUniversal for $16.7bn.
Earlier this year AT&T rival Verizon announced its intention to buy internet company Yahoo for around $4.8bn.
