AT&T Corp. struck a deal to merge its cable-TV business with Comcast Corp., creating an unprecedented cable behemoth with more than 20 million customers and capping a five-month auction that elicited bids from some of the nation’s media and cable titans. In the transaction, which AT&T says values the AT&T Broadband unit at $72 billion, AT&T investors will receive one-third of a share of the combined company for each AT&T share they own. Comcast shareholders will get one share for each share they own in Comcast. As a result, AT&T holders will own a 66% voting stake in the new company, which will be called AT&T Comcast Corp. The combined group will assume $20 billion in debts and $5 billion in convertible securities held by Microsoft. Microsoft plans to convert that stock into 115 million shares of AT&T Comcast. (MSNBC is a Microsoft - NBC joint venture.)
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