This is what Donald Trump’s victory means for AT&T, Time Warner and global M&A
Donald Trump’s presidency represents worrying news for – well, a lot of people.
But dealmakers across the world will be among them, with the Republican expected to be bad news for global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity.
In the lead-up to the election, Trump pledged that he would not allow the biggest deal of the year – AT&T’s $85bn acquisition of Time Warner – to go through.
Read more: Here's what Nigel Farage thinks of Donald Trump's victory
AT&T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.
Last month, in a survey of 1,600 global dealmakers by Intralinks, 56 per cent said they believed Trump as president would have a negative impact of M&A activity.
They also appeared complacent, however: some 15 per cent said they expected him to win the race to the White House.
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Intralinks’ Philip Whitchelo said at the time:
There’s clearly an overwhelming consensus among dealmakers that Hillary Clinton will be the next US president and that Donald Trump would be bad for global M&A.
Despite the upcoming election and the prospect of Trump, October was one of the biggest months for global M&A in history – perhaps explained by the overwhelming feeling among dealmakers that Clinton would triumph.