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

To: ANANT who wrote (40436)	12/5/2000 6:14:14 AM
From: Rascal	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

Of course CNBC is all over this story.Be that as it may,MSFT joins the long list of whiner wannabees.All of a sudden Billy wants to play fair and wants to adhere to anti trust regulations?--We are ready for the VOTE next week.With G.W. taking healm,look for ALL agreements to be thrown out as Colin steps down and his son steps way up to one of the most coveted jobs in the world.Jeb and Steve negotiated Florida Education deal which all but cemented relationship with new administration.DOW poised and ready to ROCKET as AOL/TWX becomes Premier Media/Internet Company in the World...

To: ANANT who wrote (40436)	12/5/2000 1:01:22 PM
From: ANANT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41369

AOL's Case keeps cool on merger plan By Jon Friedman, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 12:33 PM ET Dec 5, 2000 Newswatch Latest Headlines Get Alerted NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - America Online Chairman Steve Case told CBS.MarketWatch.com at the UBS Warburg Media Conference in New York that he expects the merger with Time-Warner to close by the "end" of 2000 or "early" 2001. Case answered "yes" when queried if the merger was on schedule. He's also unruffled by a report that Microsoft may try to throw a roadblock up to hamper AOL's $135 billion merger with Time-Warner. Asked what he thought of the "situation" with Microsoft (MSFT: news, msgs) , Case flashed a wan smile and said matter-of-factly: "I'm not sure it's even a 'situation.' " Microsoft is raising questions with U.S. regulators about the merger's impact on high-speed Internet access, complicating the deal's approval by the Federal Trade Commission, the Wall Street Journal reported in its Tuesday online edition. Case shrugged his shoulders and said dismissively, "Everyone has made their opinion known in Washington." Shares of America Online rose Tuesday $2.32 to $43.39 while Time-Warner shares added $3 to $64.60. Microsoft shares gained $3.50 to $59.94. AOL (AOL: news, msgs) and Time Warner (TWX: news, msgs) announced their plans to merge back on Jan. 10. At the time, the market value of their combination was an eye-popping $178 billion. The downturn of Internet and media stocks since that date, coupled with skepticism that Time Warner would slow the growth of AOL, served to depress the value of the deal. The deal is now worth about $135 billion, underscoring the drop of the stock market throughout 2000. 'Cross selling' apparent Case stressed in a 25-minute talk Tuesday to investors at the conference that AOL and Time Warner have, in a way, benefited from the 11 months of negotiations to finish their deal. Case noted that Time Inc. has sold 600,000 subscriptions over AOL systems since the deal was announced. Plus, he said, AOL "helped enormously" in marketing Time Warner's summer blockbuster "The Perfect Storm." Case also kidded about the lengthy process in getting the deal done. "I thought we'd know who the next president was" before finishing the deal. He said the next frontier for the AOL-Time Warner will be abroad. He noted the successful launch of flat rate pricing for AOL services in Japan and the U.K. Christopher Dixon, the UBS Warburg analyst hosting the event, said "no company is doing more in defining the possibilities of digital technology" than AOL. Brand expansion key The deal would combine AOL, the largest Internet provider, with Time Warner, the largest media company in the world. The key is how well AOL can capitalize on extending Time Warner's brand in the digital age. AOL says it has more than 23 million subscribers, who pay $21.95 a month for the service. In turn, Time Warner has great value to its partner because it can supply a plethora of world-class media and entertainment brands. Time Warner owns such household names as cable television's CNN, Home Box Office and Turner Broadcasting; its magazine stable includes such fabled names as Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money; its film unit released such hits as "The Perfect Storm" this year and "The Green Mile" in 1999. While Case and his partner, Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin, have spoke tirelessly about the virtues of combining the behemoths, many skeptical parties have thrown roadblocks in the way. In Washington, regulators continue to review the deal. Analysts expect it to be approved, eventually, but perhaps not in time to enable AOL and Time Warner to meet their self-imposed deadline of Dec. 21 to wrap up the big deal. In Europe, the regulators fretted that a combined AOL-Time Warner would hold such a dominant position in the media and entertainment business that it would hold an unfair competitive advantage over the competition. As a result, the European Union forced Time Warner to scuttle its plans to take over European music giant EMI for $20 billion. That deal had been announced only days after AOL and Time Warner had disclosed their plans to merge. Media companies have sought to expand operations through mergers and acquisitions. In September 1999, Viacom (VIA: news, msgs) and CBS shook the media business with an announcement of a deal, which closed earlier this year. A few months, France's Vivendi said it would acquire Seagram (VO: news, msgs) , the spirits and entertainment giant. Viacom, through CBS, is a significant shareholder in MarketWatch.com.