AT&T Buying Time Warner

For over $80 billion.

By Alex Osborn

After several days of negotiations, AT&T has reached a deal to acquire Time Warner.

According to The Wall Street Journal (via Variety), the purchase is valued at over $80 billion. Ownership of Time Warner means that AT&T will also be the proud owner of Warner Bros., DC Comics, HBO, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, as well as a number of iconic characters, including Superman, Batman and Mad Max.

While AT&T will also have ownership of the Harry Potter film franchise, the company won't outright own the Harry Potter character.

Time Warner and AT&T declined to comment on the deal, but a formal announcement is expected to be made very soon; potentially later today.

The deal is already stirring up concern among the American Cable Association, thanks to the market power that would be granted to AT&T through this acquisition. The company released a statement today, saying that "combining valuable content with pay-TV distribution causes harm to consumers and competition in the pay-TV market."

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and subscribe to his video content on YouTube.

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