AT&T Nears Deal to Buy Time Warner Inc. for About $86 Billion
- Terms are said to value Time Warner at about $107.50 a share
- Companies said to be near agreement; announcement by Monday
The Time Warner Center building stands at Columbus Circle in New York, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 24, 2014. Time Warner Inc., who sold its headquarters space at Time Warner Center for $1.3 billion, is scheduled to release earnings data on Feb. 5.
Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe boards of AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc. are meeting to discuss an $84 billion deal that would create a media behemoth offering TV, wireless, and the content that goes with it, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The companies are discussing a deal in which AT&T would buy Time Warner for about $107.50 a share, 20 percent more than where the stock closed Friday, a person familiar with the deal’s structure said Saturday, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. The price would be paid with an even split between cash and equity. If agreed upon, the acquisition would be the biggest of the year, surpassing Bayer AG’s $66 billion takeover of U.S. seed giant Monsanto Co., announced in May.