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Technology Stocks : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tradesman who wrote (36749)	1/10/2000 7:20:00 AM
From: John Carragher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41369

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. announced a blockbuster merger early Monday the companies valued at $350 billion. The two firms said the merged entity will be renamed AOL Time Warner Inc. Under terms of the deal, Time Warner shareholders will receive 1.5 shares of AOL Time Warner for each share they own. AOL shareholders will receive one share of the new entity for each share they own. When complete, America Online's shareholders will own approximately 55% of the combined firm and Time Warner's shareholders will own approximately 45%. The stock will be traded under the symbol AOL on the New York Stock Exchange, the companies said. America Online Chairman and Chief Executive, Steve Case, will be named chairman of the merged company, while Time Warner's Chairman and Chief Executive Gerald Levin will be chief executive. Ted Turner, currently vice chairman of Time Warner, will continue in that capacity at the merged firm. The companies said Mr. Turner has agreed to vote his Time Warner shares, representing approximately 9% of the company's outstanding common stock, in favor of the merger. AOL, which has more than 19 million subscribers, has a current 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. Meanwhile, Time Warner has been trying to build Internet "hubs" that focus on entertainment and news and created a high-speed Internet service called Road Runner. AOL has 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. 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. Last month in its latest move to expand investments in new media, Time Warner said it established a $500 million fund for digital-media investments, with half of the fund made up of cash and the other half in promotional time on Time Warner's media outlets. The fund will focus Time Warner's investment efforts through the Time Warner Digital Media unit established last year. Late last year, AOL agreed to acquire digital-map company MapQuest.com Inc. for about $1.1 billion in stock. AOL executives said the Mapquest.com 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.