United States: the operator AT&T acquires Time Warner for $85.4bn (€77.6 bn)

AT&T, the US telecommunications company, has announced it reached an agreement with Time Warner to acquire the latter, a US audiovisual company, for $85.4bn (€77.6bn), on 22/10/2016. With this acquisition, AT&T notably takes control of the major US companies: Warner Bros; Turner Broadcasting System; and HBO (all subsidiaries of Time Warner). Including Time Warner's debt, the transaction amounts to $108.7bn (€99.9bn) making it the largest transaction in 2016.

The transaction also includes Time Warner Cable channels which broadcast sports content, such as the channels TNT and TBS, which broadcast the NASL, the NFL, and the NBA in the United States.

The acquisition is subject to approval by Time Warner shareholders, US government legal authorities, and the US Federal Communications Commission (independent agency responsible for regulating telecommunications), and should be finalised by the two entities by the end of 2017.

• AT&T plans to achieve $1bn (€919m) in savings within the three years following the completion of the acquisition of Time Warner.