Verizon is still considering its deal with Yahoo after the tech company's infamous data breach. The telecom company is yet to come up with a decision. Now, its rival AT&T has a different deal to work with. This will be a blow to Verizon once AT&T acquires Time Warner.
AT&T And Time Warner's Possible Merger
Bloomberg previously reported that there is a possible merger between AT&T and Time Warner. Sources knowledgeable on this subject revealed that Senior Executives of the two companies have met in recent weeks. The same people also said that the private discussions were informal. The talks were more about building relations between AT&T.
The implications of this future acquisition of AT&T may not be favorable for Verizon. Time Warner is a bigger asset to AT&T compared to that of Verizon's deal with AOL and Yahoo. The Washington Post puts its best that AT&T may earn a mass media conglomerate with a major movie studio and a global 24/7 cable news network.
As if that's not already enough, Time Warner also owns the rights to these world famous brands: Batman, Superman, and Harry Potter.
BTIG Telecom Analyst Walt Piecyk agreed that the deal of Verizon with AOL and Yahoo is incomparable with that of AT&T. Piecyk also pointed out the quality of the Time Warner deal. Apparently, Verizon bought the AOL asset that Time Warner didn't want.
Verizon Gets AOL And Yahoo
Verizon's deal with AOL would help the telecom company to easily gain revenue through online video viewers. On the other hand, Yahoo is not entirely convincing lately. The hacked 500 million Yahoo accounts are not helping the tech company's case.
It has been reported that Verizon is looking into the said data breach. A general counsel for the company has revealed that a certain clause in the deal can allow them to withdraw from purchasing Yahoo. Verizon also said that they have already talked to Yahoo about the email hack.
It should be noted that Verizon's acquisition of Yahoo has been approved by the US Federal Trade Commission. It has not yet received approval from the European Commission.
