Microsoft set to foil AOL cable bid
Yahoo | at | by Mike
Microsoft Corp is determined to prevent AOL Time Warner acquiring or buying a stake in AT&T's cable business, the Financial Times reported on Monday. It quoted people close to Microsoft as saying the company was prepared to use its financial muscle to encourage alternative bids for the AT&T broadband division, rather than see AOL become the dominant player in the U.S. cable market. Microsoft increasingly viewed AOL as its primary rival in the consumer Internet sector, and following the apparent failure of Comcast's $52 billion bid for the AT&T Broadband division, it was keen to stop AT&T's talks with AOL succeeding, the FT said.