AT&T and Time Warner Merger: The Biggest Deal In The World For This Year, Worth $86 Billion

It was agreed last Saturday that AT&T will buy the entertainment group Time Warner for nearly $86 billion. But the said agreement will still need to be approved by the regulators.

If the deal is approved by regulators, AT&T would gain control of the HBO and CNN TV networks in addition to the Warner Bros film studio and other prized media assets, according to a report in BBC News.

"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" AT&T Randall Stephenson said on one of his interviews.

According to The Washington Post, talks about the AT&T and Time Warner began when the Chief Executives of  both companies Randall Stephenson and Jeff Bewkes met in New York to discuss the changes sweeping the media and technologies industries.

Time Warner's chief executive Jeff Bewkes will still stay and all of its executives will also remain. According to him the combined company, due to its scale and reach, will not only be able to attract additional creative talent but also expand the content offerings of Time Warner in new ways.

The combination of two companies is one of the most talked about deal in the US and many people scrutinized it for AT&T is already the third-largest cable TV provider in the US. Even the nominee Republican President Donald Trump announces that in case he will win, he will block the deal. But AT&T is expecting that this deal will be closed and completed by the end of 2017.

Report says that if this will be approved, it will become the biggest deal in the world for this year. AT&T will also inherit the Time Warners debt and $107.50 for each Time Warner share in a combination of cash and stock worth $85.4bn overall.