AT&T $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner

Overview:

• AT&T has acquired Time Warner in a landmark $85.4 billion deal.
• If approved, this will be the largest deal in the world for 2016.
• The price tag comes to $107.50 per Time Warner share, of which half will be paid in cash and half paid in stock.
• To finance the cash portion of purchase, AT&T will draw from debt and balance sheet cash.
• The deal continues the recent trend of massive telecommunications consolidations, including the Verizon purchase of Yahoo! properties and the acquisition of Time Warner Cable by Charter Communications.
• Even prior to this acquisition, AT&T had also been part of the wave of telecommunications consolidation, having bought DirecTV last year. 
• The transaction is expected to receive a considerable amount of regulatory scrutiny.

Kurt Stumpo - Journalist