AT&T was renamed Time-Warner, and says it is ready to invest

© Reuters. AT&T WAS RENAMED TIME-WARNER, AND SAYS IT IS READY TO INVEST

(Reuters) – AT&T is committed to investing as much as necessary in Time Warner that he comes to redeem, said Friday the general director of the operator, adding plan to spend 21 to 22 billion dollars (18 to 19 billion euros) to the new entity.

“We intend to invest,” said Randall Stephenson in an interview to the tv channel CNBC.

The number two u.s. mobile phone has finalized Thursday the purchase for $ 85 billion ($73,4 billion euro), of Time Warner after an agreement with the us competition authorities under which the latter do not seek to delay the operation.

Now he must integrate the group of entertainment and media in its activities, in order to compete with Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and other tech companies who provide direct services to consumers.

Time Warner will be renamed the WarnerMedia, according to a document sent to employees by the ceo of AT&T Entertainment Group, John Stankey, who will take the reins.

The director of Turner, John Martin, will be leaving the company, according to this memo viewed by Reuters.

Randall Stephenson stated that AT&T had the intention of preserving the culture of Time Warner, but under a new name.

He told CNBC to expect that the level of indebtedness of AT&T rapidly decreases in about a year and aims for a leverage of 2.3 times Ebitda in four years.

Some analysts were concerned about the level of debt that the group has contracted to acquire Time Warner, or about $ 180 billion at the end of the merger, a statement, Randall Stephenson.

AT&T plans to invest more in HBO, famous for the hit series “Games of Thrones”.

(Sheila Dang; Catherine Mallebay-Vacqueur for the French service)