Who did AT&T buyout?
Below is a list of some of the major acquisitions that AT&T has made in the past few decades. Here is an overview of some of their key buyouts.
1. BellSouth (2006)
In 2006, AT&T reportedly indicated it planned to pay BellSouth $67 billion. BellSouth was among the seven "Baby Bells," after the split of the erstwhile AT&T monopoly. Combining allowed BellSouth to gain direct control of Cingular Wireless, a joint venture with AT&T, and its landline division This saw AT&T take over one of the leading American telecom carriers entirely.
2. DIRECTV (2015)
For $48.5 billion in 2015, AT&T bought another satellite TV provider, DIRECTV. With over twenty million consumers at the time of the agreement, this deal gave AT&T control rights over one of the largest TV companies in the United States. Having DirecTV also gives AT&T new ways to be able to bundle and offer to its customers video/TV and internet/phone service packages.
3. Time Warner (2018)
The largest and the most significant deal in AT&T’s M&A journey was the acquisition of mass media company Time Warner for $85 billion in 2018. This deal entailed ownership of many other valuable entertainment brands such as HBO, Warner Bros. Studios, CNN, TBS, TNT, and many others. This was a significant change for a telecom company going into the content space.
Having Time Warner’s large media assets allows AT&T to have more content and IPs to share through its extensive telecom networks and services. This is in line with their integrated service plan of also offering media and entertainment services beyond the internet/phone service.
4. AppNexus (2018)
AppNexus was the latest target in 2018 when AT&T Internet bought the digital ad marketplace for a range of $1.4 billion – $2 billion. AppNexus runs a programmatic ad platform that connects companies to purchase and sell digital ad spaces. AppNexus strengthens the AT&T plan of developing new integrated advertisement and analytical services based on the data collected from the networks.
5. Otter Media (2018)
Analogously, in 2018 AT&T bought Otter Media, the digital media holding firm running numerous online video subscription services including Fullscreen and Ellation's VRV streaming service. This $1 billion agreement also connects with AT&T's intentions to carry on acquiring digital media assets to support its streaming video and content business.
Overall, AT&T has been committing massive amounts of money to acquisitions of premium entertainment, content, and advertising technology companies such as Time Warner, DIRECTV, AppNexus, and Otter Media. These other assets complement AT&T’s core telecommunication services with media, streaming video, and digital advertising offerings. This aligns with the integrated service model that AT&T applies to combine various services into a single package to be delivered through its network. Looking to the future, AT&T intends to use all of these newly acquired media assets to roll out a new streaming platform that would rival Netflix and others.
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