– This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on October 24, Monday.
Welcome to CNBC Business Daily, I'm Qian Chen.
AT&T has reached a deal to acquire Time Warner for more than $85 billion, a blockbuster deal that fuses a mobile giant with an entertainment conglomerate, carrying with it the potential to reshape the media landscape.
The deal represents a marriage of Time Warner's limitless movie and television empire -including Harry Potter, Batman, Superman and the next generation of super hero movies being developed by DC Comics - with AT&T's 315 million wireless subscribers.
The combination brings Time Warner full circle back to the heady days of the first Dotcom bubble, when it created a merger of equals with AOL-which failed spectacularly in achieving its goals and resulted in an eventual breakup.
The deal will pay off in the first year following the close of the transaction on a share and free cash flow basis, the companies said. AT&T expects to achieve $1 billion in savings within 3 years of the deal closing.
While AT&T's been saddled with a price war with T-Mobile and Sprint, it's been looking for new ways to increase growth.
As part of that effort, it completed its $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV last year to upsell both services to the respective customers.
Calling the deal a "perfect match," AT&T chief Randall Stephenson said the combined company would have "the world's best premium content with the networks to deliver it to every screen."
"It's a great fit, and it creates immediate and long-term value for our shareholders," Stephenson said. "We intend to give customers unmatched choice, quality, value and experiences that will define the future of media and communications."
The deal, however, faces a stiff political and regulatory test. The populist winds buffeting Washington mean that legislators may not approve of another multi-billion corporate tie-up.
Already, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in a speech that under a potential GOP White House, his administration would not approve the deal.
CNBC Qian Chen, reporting from Singapore.