A previous post here explored some of the initial reported details of one of the biggest business mergers in recent history: the merger of telecom giant AT&T with mega-media company Time Warner. It should come as no surprise to our readers in Louisiana that this merger is being scrutinized closely by regulators, which makes sense to a certain degree — the merger would combine quite a few companies that Americans have contact with on a daily basis. One of the questions that is being asked is whether or not this merger will reduce the competition in certain areas of the economy too much.
A recent article noted that while one of the main stated goals of the merger is laudable — attempting to merge the strengths of the two companies, which would be mobile data transfer and entertainment content — there may be some concerns that competition could be pushed aside too easily as a result. AT&T provides Internet and cell phone coverage to millions of Americans everywhere; the company is already one of the largest telecom businesses in the world. Time Warner, on the other hand, owns companies that produce movies and television shows, among many other facets of the entertainment industry. Will the competition be able to keep up with such a behemoth of a consumer-driven company?
These are just some of the questions that many companies will need to consider when either merging with another business or outright buying a company. As many of the previous posts here have noted, mergers and acquisitions can be complex business transactions with many different moving parts right up until the deal is finalized. Any company in Louisiana that is contemplating entering into such a transaction will want to make sure they do their best to anticipate the pitfalls of the process.
Source: The Guilfordian, “AT&T, Time Warner merge to offer more content,” Evan Gorgen and Tejas Santanam, Dec. 2, 2016