4 ms·

Who benefits from large corporate mergers like this? What does an all stock deal mean at that kind of magnitude? It certainly feels like little else than a han

Who benefits from large corporate mergers like this? What does an all stock deal mean at that kind of magnitude? It certainly feels like little else than a handshake deal to create a monopoly.

fennecfoxen 13y ago
At a minimum you can expect to fire some staff. You don't need two marketing departments coming up with ads, for instance. It won't quite be half the staff, but salaries are expensive (health care too).
gorner 13y ago
Bigger scale, lower combined costs, more negotiating clout with TV channel operators, etc.
- ritchiea 13y ago
  So monopoly
  - gorner 13y ago
    Well, they're still competing with your local telco (AT&T / Verizon), DirecTV, Dish Network, and Google Fiber and/or others in some areas. (Though granted some of those are TV-only, not Internet.) Not really much different than how Comcast and TWC are individually competing right now (as their service areas don't overlap). Though I'm not suggesting either one is a shining paragon of customer service or fair pricing (I don't have any first-hand experience to speak of there; I'm in Canada).
kawera 13y ago
Who benefits from large corporate mergers like this? At first, the deal makers: executives, bankers, lawyers, auditors, consultants and assorted advisors. Down the road... nobody.
Tsagadai 13y ago
In a word, shareholders. Many won't benefit but there is money in this sort of deal and it is likely going to the business owners.
crag 13y ago
"Who benefits from large corporate mergers like this?" You might think the share holders. Not correct. Though they don't lose. Think: the law firms handling the deal. This type of deal is worth millions in fees; banks - both investment (for finding the cash) and traditional (for providing the cash); and the governments which would levy taxes and fees. And of course anything below the public view (kick-backs, trips, outright campaign donations). I mean it's no surprise they picked a campaign year to merge. ;) The companies have probably been talking about this for at least a year. It might not go through. If there is enough back lash from other companies. Happened with ATT recently. What will matter are other content providers (Disney, Fox, Viacom, etc etc) - though it wouldn't surprise me if they get certain guarantees they we won't know about. Netflix doesn't really have any muscle on the ground to fight this. But if they could form a coalition of sorts, with the likes of Amazon, Google, Apple, FB, Twitter, (maybe even) MS and Sony (they have a stake in this too), etc, etc - combined they'd be a formidable force that Commcast/TM would have to deal with. And then there's us. But I hold little hope for the american public to rally around any cause. Plus too many are too easily swayed. My hope lies in a the coalition of net companies I mentioned.

Who benefits from large corporate mergers like this? What does an all stock deal mean at that kind of magnitude? It certainly feels like little else than a handshake deal to create a monopoly.

fennecfoxen 13y ago

At a minimum you can expect to fire some staff. You don't need two marketing departments coming up with ads, for instance. It won't quite be half the staff, but salaries are expensive (health care too).

gorner 13y ago

Bigger scale, lower combined costs, more negotiating clout with TV channel operators, etc.

ritchiea 13y ago
So monopoly
- gorner 13y ago
  Well, they're still competing with your local telco (AT&T / Verizon), DirecTV, Dish Network, and Google Fiber and/or others in some areas. (Though granted some of those are TV-only, not Internet.) Not really much different than how Comcast and TWC are individually competing right now (as their service areas don't overlap). Though I'm not suggesting either one is a shining paragon of customer service or fair pricing (I don't have any first-hand experience to speak of there; I'm in Canada).

kawera 13y ago

Who benefits from large corporate mergers like this? At first, the deal makers: executives, bankers, lawyers, auditors, consultants and assorted advisors. Down the road... nobody.

Tsagadai 13y ago

In a word, shareholders. Many won't benefit but there is money in this sort of deal and it is likely going to the business owners.

crag 13y ago

"Who benefits from large corporate mergers like this?" You might think the share holders. Not correct. Though they don't lose. Think: the law firms handling the deal. This type of deal is worth millions in fees; banks - both investment (for finding the cash) and traditional (for providing the cash); and the governments which would levy taxes and fees. And of course anything below the public view (kick-backs, trips, outright campaign donations). I mean it's no surprise they picked a campaign year to merge. ;) The companies have probably been talking about this for at least a year. It might not go through. If there is enough back lash from other companies. Happened with ATT recently. What will matter are other content providers (Disney, Fox, Viacom, etc etc) - though it wouldn't surprise me if they get certain guarantees they we won't know about. Netflix doesn't really have any muscle on the ground to fight this. But if they could form a coalition of sorts, with the likes of Amazon, Google, Apple, FB, Twitter, (maybe even) MS and Sony (they have a stake in this too), etc, etc - combined they'd be a formidable force that Commcast/TM would have to deal with. And then there's us. But I hold little hope for the american public to rally around any cause. Plus too many are too easily swayed. My hope lies in a the coalition of net companies I mentioned.