A new AT&T merger unwinds a previous one

Over the weekend, a massive merger agreement was hammered out between telecom giant AT&T and entertainment company Discovery Inc. If it receives the blessing of federal regulators, AT&T will spin off its WarnerMedia unit—which includes CNN, HBO, and other assets—into a separate company that it will co-own with Discovery. The usual descriptions followed: it was a merger made in heaven (Discovery chief executive David Zaslav said the two “fit together like a glove”), with numerous synergies, and would create what the New York Times called “a juggernaut.” As Paul Farhi, Washington Post media reporter, pointed out following the news, a number of deals over the past two decades were described in similar terms, including the merger of Time Warner and AOL in 2000, in a deal that was worth about $165 billion at the time. It was later unwound, with Time Warner taking a massive write-down and spinning off AOL as a separate company. Despite the hyperbole, a number of analysts and media industry experts believe the deal represents an admission of failure by AT&T. The company said it planned to buy WarnerMedia in 2016, and spent the next two years fighting with competition regulators for approval to do the deal. The acquisition was finally approved in 2018, and AT&T bought the company for $85 billion, which it heralded as the start of a new media and entertainment empire. The unwinding of the deal is “a major course correction,” Axios wrote about the new arrangement.... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2021-05-18 12:05:33 UTC ]
News tagged with: #vanity fair #liz gough #axel springer #lifestyle magazine #editorial teams #time warner

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Amazon/TBD merger "could put bookshops out of business"

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 26/10/2011 - 15:55 The Booksellers Association has said the Office of Fair Trading's decision to clear the merger between Amazon and The Book Depository will give Amazon more power to put its competitors out of business. The OFT announced today... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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OFT gives go-ahead for Amazon/TBD merger

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 26/10/2011 - 13:03 The Office of Fair Trading has cleared Amazon to take over The Book Depository, ruling the merger would not lead to a lessening of competition within the UK book industry. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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OFT decision on Amazon merger due late October

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 19/09/2011 - 11:47 The Office of Fair Trading has said it now expects to announce its decision on the Amazon takeover of The Book Depository by late October. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: Amazon merger opposed

The Booksellers Association has formally opposed Amazon's attempts to merge with The Book Depository. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book depository #booksellers association


OFT decision on Amazon merger due Friday

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 30/08/2011 - 15:30 The Office of Fair Trading has postponed its ruling on the merger between Amazon and The Book Depository until Friday (2nd September). Originally the OFT had scheduled to announce today (30th August) whether it considered the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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SoA says Amazon/TBD merger "unhealthy domination"

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 21/07/2011 - 09:45 The Society of Authors is the latest organisation to argue that the merger of Amazon with The Book Depository could lead to “unhealthy domination” of one company over the bookselling market. In its submission to the Office of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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OFT opens door to Bertrams/Dawson merger

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 19/07/2011 - 15:50 The Office of Fair Trading will not refer the merger of Bertrams and Dawson to the Competition Commission, it said today. Smiths News Plc, which owns book wholesaler Bertrams, announced the £20m deal to buy Dawson Holdings in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BA and PA set to oppose Amazon-Book Depository merger

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 07/07/2011 - 09:06 The Booksellers Association has announced it will formally oppose the merger of Amazon and The Book Depository, with the BA saying that Amazon already had a "de facto monopoly". Meanwhile, the PA is actively considering... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BA opposes Amazon and Book Depository merger

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 07/07/2011 - 09:06 The Booksellers Association has announced it will formally oppose the merger of Amazon and The Book Depository, saying that Amazon already had a "de facto monopoly". read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book depository #formally oppose #booksellers association


No Newpage-Verso Merger After All?

Paper manufacturers Newpage and Verso may not be headed for a merger after all, according to two paper-industry analysts quoted in The Dead Tree Edition. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report: Verso and NewPage Back in Merger Talks

NewPage Paper and Verso--the largest makers of coated paper and the subject of merger rumors last year--are b Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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