Introduction An acquisition strategy is defined as one company buying controlling interest in another company (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2013). AT&T recently utilized this strategy to acquire DirecTV for $48.5 billion and become the number two Pay-Tv provider in the U.S. (Popper, 2014). AT&T is a well-known telecom giant offering phone services counting Verizon, Time Warner, and Sprint among its competitors. This case analysis will include a brief organizational background for both AT&T and DirecTV, details regarding the acquisition, an analysis of the acquisition and a summary of findings related to the acquisition and recommendations for the future strategic direction of the company.
Background Information
AT&T
AT&T Inc., founded in 1877 by Alexander Graham Bell and his partners, is today one of the largest telephone and cable television companies in the United States (CNN Money, 2001). AT&T has become a highly diversified company with multiple revenue streams from enterprise, consumer and mobility businesses (AT&T Inc.,
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According to Gottfried (2015), the acquisition of DirecTV by AT&T is not without risks, DirecTV’s long term value hinges on AT&T’s “ability to navigate the transition between traditional TV viewing and TV viewed over the Internet.” Furthermore, Gottfried (2015) points out that there is evidence that the Pay-Tv industry is declining, and the opportunity for expansion from the acquisition is small since AT&T offers a video service through
Consumers have certain types of perceptions of price in correlation to the product quality and service; therefore, company should base their price on the customer’s perceived value (K&K). Some consumers are price sensitive, while others are quality or both. “The key to perceived-value pricing is to deliver more unique value than competitors and to demonstrate this to prospective buyers” (p.183). For example, Dish Network has introductory price for a year or two, then it bounces back to regular price. Also, the company offers different TV packages, which can be customized according to the station most watched or one can pick one of the package the company provides. I have been with Dish Network for more than 5 years and one thing that kept
The primary business of AT&T Incorporation is telecommunication. This American leading company provides both fixed telephony and mobile telephony. Amongst other services that the company offers include broadband television subscription. Currently, AT&T Incorporation is a leading fixed telephony provider and the second largest mobile telephony provider in United States of America. AT&T Incorporation has steadily grown to become the third largest company in Texas, United States. In addition, it is the largest company in Dallas.
Verizon Wireless officially entered into the communications market on April 4, 2000. A joint project of Verizon Communications and Vodafone, Verizon Wireless is the self-proclaimed leading supplier of wireless communication in the United States, offering service in more places across the country than any other service provider. While Verizon Wireless did not begin corporate operations until 2000, its history can be traced back many years. The company’s roots can be traced to two distinct companies: Bell System and General Telephone & Electronics Corp. (GTE). Verizon Communications was formed on July 27, 1998, from a merger of
AT&T has much strengths and weaknesses and threats as an organization. This SWOT will serve as a tool for identifying alternative strategies for the organization and help define a growth plan. AT&T is a corporate business, their global headquarters is located in Dallas Texas, and the current chief executive officer (CEO) is Randall L. Stephenson. For more than a century they have consistently provided innovative, reliable high quality products and services and excellent customer care. They are recognized as the leading provider of IP-based communications services and businesses. They’re also the top U.S. provider of wireless, high speed internet access, WIFI, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services.
According to Stafford and Heilprin, “American Cable Communications (ACC) was one of the largest cable operators in the United States (AirThread Case).” ACC serviced roughly 24.1 million video subscribers, 13.2 million high-speed internet subscribers, and 4.6 million landline telephony subscribers. In 2007, ACC saw revenues of $30.9 billion and had net income equaling $2.6 billion. In order to adapt to the changes in the industry, ACC started aggressively acquiring smaller companies, which resulted in huge customer growth and the development of, “a strong corporate finance team with significant acumen in identifying, valuing, structuring, and executing corporate control transaction (AirThread Case).” That being said, ACC has set its sights on yet another company--AirThread Connections--with the expectation of further revenue growth and customer acquisition and retention.
AT&T is a leader in telecommunication services, including cell phones, wireless, U-verse, digital TV, high speed internet, DSL, and home phone. AT&T currently employs over 280,000 people worldwide. AT&T is now ranked #7 on Fortune 500 list, where its main competitor, Verizon, is listed as #13. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, AT&T Inc is the largest U.S. local and long distance phone service provider and second largest wireless service provider, with over 87.0 million wireless customers. AT&T was created in 2005 after SBC Communications acquired AT&T Corp.
Rogers Cable is the leader in Canada’s cable television market, with a over 2.3 million cable television subscribers and 500000 internet subscribers. In 1993 the Canadian government relaxed the norms of telecommunications industry followed by an application in 1999, allowing local carriers to change the content of the information passing through their networks. This led to increased competition in the market and the customers enjoyed a lot of choice. As such Rogers Cable focused completely on increasing its subscriber base and
As a consequence of the governments intervention, the AT&T lawsuit settlement, as well as the shift in the telecommunication industry, it was clear that AT&Ts local telecommunication business was slowly moving away from a monopoly franchise environment. It was moving towards a more competitive environment characterized with more consumer choice and greater competition. Companies such as IBM saw the divestiture of AT&T as an opportunity to provide new telecommunication equipment and services, which would allow them to gain a higher market share. AT&T's stock had up till then been regarded as a stable utility-type stock because of its steady growth and consistent dividend yield. However, AT&T should have kept in mind that they would not have as much market control in the future as they did prior the divestiture, much due to the intensifying competition and regulatory environment changes.
Dish Network Corporation is an American organization that specializes in offering direct satellite service providers. The company has for a long time served many Americans through their interactive television services, satellite internet access, satellite television and audio programming among others. However much Dish Corporation is in business with a large number of subscribers, it is faced with a myriad of competition from rival firms that offer the same services. The firms that rival Dish Corporation include Comcast Corporation, Time Warner Cable Enterprise and Directv Group holdings. As of the year 2016, Dish Corporation has had more than 13 million subscribers who access their services. For a large organization such as Dish, concrete strategies are required to push rival firms out of business. This essay will center its focus on the key strategies that Dish has adopted over the years to remain in business and at the same time gain competitive advantage.
Have you ever wondered how your phone company started out? Or the new innovations it has brought about? And maybe even how the business is run? Well, today I’m going to talk about AT&T’s history, the products it sells, the employee jobs and U-verse.
The dominant economic traits of this industry start with having an enormous amount of capital required for staying competitive. One is also required to spend lots of money on research and development, as the telecommunications industry seems to be the vision of the future. More and more companies like AT&T are trying very hard to combine their network services of phone line, video and data transfer, high speed internet access, and television cable via one line in the consumers homes. With a successful combination of the above stated services AT&T is hoping to be the industry leader in the near future.
The next study that is examined was the Five Competitive Forces. This shows the industry’s competitors, threats of new entrants and substitutes, and the power of the customers and suppliers. The main rival competitors within the TV service providers industry are Dish Network, Direct TV, Comcast Cable, Time Warner Cable, and Atlantic Broadband. The rivalry of these competitors could lead to lower profits due to price competition and new technology as each is trying to stay competitive in the industry.
Comcast holds about 20% of the market, Direct TV holds about 20%, and DISH holds about 14%, and so does Time-Warner Cable. Customer satisfaction with Pay TV providers is dropping across all competitors (The ACSI) which suggest low customer loyalty held in check by limited choices in many areas, or an inability for the consumer to see much difference between companies. Competitors have huge infrastructure investments that many not be salvageable causing a high barrier to exit. Also, the end product, TV, is largely the same between competitors. Rivalry is very high as no one holds a huge competitive advantage. It is likely very difficult to make a sustained profit in this market over the long term, and expanding to new markets may be the best choice to move
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) typically refers to a corporate fiscal and strategic set of strategies that deal with the purchasing, selling, and/or combining of different companies or pieces of companies that are able to help grow a company or experience rapid innovation with either creating another business entity or investing research and development from the ground up (Hennepopf, 2009). Modern organizations are so highly complex and competitive that the old paradigm improving efficiency and the bottom line improves, is no longer all it takes to be successful. Companies must continue to reinvent themselves, put Board egos aside and look at the marketplace, their expertise, and what they can do to retain market share. With technology changing so
AT&T Inc. is the largest provider of wireless telecommunication services in the united states of fixed telephone and the second largest of mobile telephones. This makes the company, a multinational telecommunication corporation in the USA.