Comcast Acquisition of AT&T Broadband

Abstract

In the year 2001, Comcast took over AT&T broadband unit for $72 billion. The deal created the biggest cable company in the United States with 22.3 million subscribers which was almost twice the size of the next biggest cable operator, AOL Time Warner. The combined company provided lines into one fifth of US homes. AT&T Broadband was the largest cable company with 13.8 million customers. The combined company called AT&T Comcast Corporation became the leading and most powerful communications, media, and entertainment company in the world. The new combined company had subscribers in 17 of the United States’ 20 largest urban markets. The acquisition of AT&T Broadband enabled Comcast to deliver faster broadband speed and innovative television series to new markets. The merger deal valued AT&T’s cable systems at approximately $4500 per subscriber based on the closing price of Comcast stock and gave AT&T shareholders majority ownership of the combined company with an initial total aggregate value of approximately $120 billion. The deal represented a value per subscriber of more than $4000.