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To: Scrapps who wrote (7330)	1/10/2000 5:34:00 AM
From: Paul Lee	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9236

what do you think? Time Warner, AOL to Merge; Deal Creates a Multimedia Giant By PETER GUMBEL Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL LOS ANGELES -- Media and entertainment giant Time Warner Inc. and the world's biggest online-service provider America Online Inc. are expected to announce a stock-for-stock merger early Monday, according to people familiar with the situation. Details of the deal weren't immediately available. Time Warner Will Launch Its Entertaindom Web Site (Nov. 24) Lobbying Move in Cable Fight May Pay Off for AOL Coalition (July 15) Join the Discussion: What do you make of America Online's recent moves? How will all these changes impact the future of online services and the Internet? America Online Chairman and Chief Executive, Steve Case, is expected to be named chairman of the merged company, while Time Warner's Chairman and Chief Executive Gerald Levin will be chief executive. People briefed on the transaction said AOL shareholders are likely to hold a majority stake in the merged company of just over 50%. AOL, based in Dulles, Va. currently has a market capitalization that is about twice that of Time Warner, based in New York, but the deal's terms are unlikely to value AOL as highly, according to these people. AOL, which has more than 19 million subscribers, has a market capitalization of about $164 billion, while Time Warner has a market capitalization of $83 billion. By uniting a major media conglomerate with a leading Internet company, the transaction is likely to have major repercussions on both industries. It comes at a time when many big media companies are struggling to figure out how to harness the power of the Internet, and when Internet companies are increasingly looking to put entertainment and other content on their Web sites to attract more customers. Time Warner's businesses include Time magazine, Warner Bros. studio, Warner Music Group, the HBO cable channel, Time Warner Cable, Time Warner Telecom, Warner Books and the WB television network. AOL has also been sparring recently with Time Warner over the issue of cable-TV companies allowing access to their high-speed lines into consumers' homes to Internet service providers. Time Warner's businesses include Time magazine, Warner Bros. studio, Warner Music Group, the HBO cable channel, Time Warner Cable, Time Warner Telecom, Warner Books and the WB television network. Active Dealmakers Both companies also have been busy with various deals recently. Time Warner reportedly is interested in buying General Electric Corp.'s NBC television network for $25 billion. General Electric and Time Warner denied they have talked. Late last year, AOL agreed to acquire digital-map company MapQuest.com Inc. for about $1.1 billion in stock. AOL executives said the acquisition will bolster its efforts to provide information access from cellular phones, handheld computers and a variety of emerging personal devices. AOL, meanwhile, has undertaken a broad campaign dubbed "AOL Anywhere" to extend elements of its flagship service beyond the confines of personal computers. MapQuest will fit neatly into this strategy, since it has partnerships with Nokia Corp. and Sprint Corp. to deliver travel directions to users of Internet-enabled phones. MapQuest is also developing a service that uses telephones to verbally dictate-driving instructions to users. Now AOL will be part of those ventures.