Microsoft to steal AOL Cable Bid
Reuters | at | by Mike
As AT&T Corp. mulls a sale of its cable television unit, the list of potential buyers is headed by other cable titans. Microsoft is also said to be interested in participating, a move analysts say is aimed at thwarting any attempt by rival AOL Time Warner Inc. to expand its cable empire. Microsoft almost certainly isn't interested in running an entire cable network, analysts said. But having invested $5 billion in AT&T Broadband two years ago, Microsoft could chip in on any deal that would keep the biggest U.S. cable network out of AOL's hands, they said. Certainly Microsoft has the financial clout to toss in a few billion dollars to make a deal happen. The company reported cash and short-term securities of $31 billion at the end of June.