This just in, Comcast out of the bidding:
From Bloomberg
Top Financial News
Wed, 05 May 1999, 12:01am EDT
Comcast, AT&T to Swap Cable Systems, Ending Bidding War for MediaOne
By Greg Wiles
Comcast, AT&T to Swap Systems, Ending MediaOne Battle (Update2)
(Adds information on takeover battle.)
Philadelphia, May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp., the No. 3
U.S. cable-TV operator, dropped out of the bidding war for rival
MediaOne Group Inc. after Comcast agreed to swap and buy cable-TV
systems from AT&T Corp. worth up to $9.2 billion.
Under the agreement, Comcast will get 750,000 AT&T cable
customers for $3 billion to $3.5 billion. It will have an option
to get another 1.25 million customers over three years for $5.7
billion. Comcast will pay AT&T in AT&T stock it owns or Comcast
Class A shares. In return, Comcast will sell AT&T phone services
in its markets on an expedited basis and get favorable terms.
The agreement ends a takeover battle between AT&T and
Comcast over MediaOne. In March, MediaOne accepted a $52.53
billion offer from Comcast, which was topped by AT&T's offer of
$62.5 billion on April 23. The acquisition is the latest move by
AT&T Chief Executive C. Michael Armstrong to bypass the local
phone companies and get direct links to provide high-speed
Internet access and phone and cable services directly to homes.
''Armstrong's making the gutsiest moves AT&T has ever
made,'' said Jeffrey Kagan, an independent telecommunications
industry analyst based in Atlanta. ''He is literally betting the
company's future on cable.''
<continued on Bloomberg webpage, too big to paste here> |
