Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Oct 24, 2016 8:44:39 GMT -6
variety.com/2016/biz/news/time-warner-att-stocks-shares-fall-1201898549/
Time Warner, AT&T Shares Fall in Early Morning Trading
Time Warner stocks are beginning to come back down to earth in early trading Monday following news of a blockbuster sales agreement to AT&T.
On Friday, the companies confirmed that they have a pact in place for the telecom giant to buy the media company for $85.4 billion. That would give AT&T ownership of Warner Bros., CNN, HBO, and Turner, in what is seen as a major bet on the future of video and television content.
Time Warner stock was down 2.43% on Monday, trading at $87.29, while AT&T stock fell 1.59% to $36.90. Time Warner shares got a lift last week, with the stock closing 8% higher on regular trading on Friday, AT&T shares fell 3%.
AT&T and Time Warner are positioning the deal as a vertical integration — in essence, the telecom company is diversifying into the content business instead of doubling down in its field of expertise. Those kinds of pact traditionally aren’t seen as anti-competitive by government regulators and have a stronger likelihood of getting approved.
However, the sheer size of the purchase is likely to raise concerns from lawmakers. Over the weekend, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he opposed the deal, while Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine expressed concerns about media consolidation.
The markets are up on Monday morning. The S&P is up 46%, the Nasdaq is up 91%, and the Dow is up 46%. Verizon, a major competitor to AT&T, is up 0.31% at $48.35. Shares of Disney and 21st Century Fox, two other media players, rose 0.37% at $93.37 and 0.04% at $26.35, respectively. 21st Century Fox, which launched a failed takeover bid for Time Warner in 2014, is down slightly, falling 0.85% to $25.69.