Patrick
Well I was cut off about six this morning with no warning.
Up and running on AOL.
I don't think I'll go back to AT&T
Latest news in case you haven't caught it
Thursday November 29 6:30 PM ET
One Bid In, Two Others Expected for AT&T Broadband
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Judge pushes AtHome off button, may go dark midnight Nov. 30 - (ON24)
Tech Files: ExciteAtHome's woes linger - (ON24)
By Tom Johnson and Jessica Hall
NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news) is expected by Monday to receive offers from Cox Communications Inc., Comcast Corp., and AOL Time Warner Inc. to take over its broadband cable television unit, as well as a proposal by Microsoft Corp. for an investment of up to $3 billion to $5 billion, sources familiar with the situation said.
Cox already submitted a firm offer, but its proposal will likely be tweaked before Monday's final deadline, sources said. Comcast and AOL meanwhile, are expected submit their offers on Monday, the same day that Microsoft is expected to make its proposal.
The situation remains fluid, and offers continue to change ''almost by the hour,'' said one source familiar with the situation. AT&T extended the deadline until Monday after at least one suitor, AOL Time Warner, asked for more time to assemble an offer, sources said.
Microsoft, which is already an AT&T shareholder, plans to offer a ``substantial'' investment of about $3 billion to $5 billion in exchange for a commitment by AT&T to use its software and services, sources said,
Representatives for AT&T, Cox (NYSE:COX - news), Comcast (Nasdaq:CMCSK - news) (Nasdaq:CMCSA - news) and Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) declined to comment. Cox and AOL (NYSE:AOL - news) could not be immediately reached for comment.
AT&T's board will review the proposals at a December 8 meeting, sources said. The company has said it aims to decide by year-end whether to sell the No. 1 U.S. cable television company or proceed with its earlier plan to spin off the unit.
SELL OR SPIN OFF?
Telephone and cable telephone giant AT&T postponed plans to carve out AT&T Broadband as an independent company when Comcast offered in July to purchase the unit in a deal originally valued at $44.5 billion.
AT&T rejected Comcast's offer as inadequate and objected to the proposed voting structure, which would have given Comcast a minority equity stake but a majority voting power in the combined company.
AT&T then began exploring other strategic options for the unit, and opened talks with several suitors interested in buying or investing in the cable business, sources said.
AT&T executives are expected to look at a number of factors when reviewing the bids, including a price for the unit -- which could exceed $50 billion -- governance issues, the willingness to assume some of AT&T's massive debt-load, voting power and regulatory hurdles, sources said.
There has been growing speculation on Wall Street that AT&T might push to keep the unit and spin it off, particularly since the company named new managers for AT&T Broadband last month who have ties to AT&T board member Amos Hostetter, a proponent of keeping the business independent.
Hostetter has sparred over the years with Comcast. In 1999, he helped engineer AT&T's successful bid for MediaOne over rival bidder Comcast. Hostetter also was a strident opponent of Comcast's offer in July for AT&T Broadband, sources said.
However, AT&T could face a stiff fight from shareholders if it pursues spinning the unit off. Some industry sources expect Comcast to heavily lobby AT&T shareholders to vote against such a plan.
Nine out of 10 of AT&T's top shareholders also owned sizable stakes in Comcast as of Sept. 30, according to Thomson Financial.
AOL DEAL COULD FACE HURDLES
Exact details of the Cox bid could not immediately be learned, but one source familiar with the situation said Cox made an offer that was ``close enough and credible enough'' to be weighed seriously. Analysts have questioned whether Cox had the financial might to make a serious takeover offer.
A deal with Cox would give AT&T shareholders greater control than in a merger with Comcast, sources said. One of AT&T's major objections to Comcast's offer was that it would give AT&T shareholders limited voting power.
Meanwhile, an investment from Microsoft, or others, would help AT&T convince shareholders it has a cash cushion on which to fall back. But such an infusion would not necessarily help AT&T defend itself in a proxy battle, and does not satisfy its desire to shed its investment in its Time Warner Entertainment joint venture.
Microsoft's motivation to increase its stake in AT&T is to prevent AOL Time Warner from getting even larger and controlling more of the cable media industry, sources said. But an investment by Microsoft would not preclude AT&T from accepting a merger offer from another firm, sources said.
AOL Time Warner, the No. 2 U.S. cable television company, is interested in AT&T Broadband to secure much-sought after access to high-speed pipelines to distribute programming, movies and music, industry observers said.
But given the size and market strength of AT&T Broadband, a combination with a large company like AOL Time Warner would likely face tax and regulatory hurdles, regulatory experts said.
And AT&T may decide to take an easier path by accepting a deal that has greater assurance of completion, sources said.
I am on automatic bill-pay and they have all ready collected for Dec. |
