Coming and Going
Wall Street investment banks scored $320 million in fees from AT&T’s spinoff of its WarnerMedia unit and subsequent merger with Discovery Communications, the Financial Times reports today. Telephone, which forked over $85 billion for TimeWarner three years ago, said it received $43 billion in cash and other considerations and will own 71% of the new entity upon the deal’s projected close early next year.
That 2018 transaction proved ill-fated for AT&T shareholders and management, as the stock has since returned negative 5%, inclusive of dividends, compared to a positive 78% return for the S&P 500. The bankers made out all right, clearing $234 million in fees for that deal per Refinitiv.
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