'AT&T, Time Warner close to merger deal'

Telecommunications giant AT&T Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire media titan Time Warner Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal said the deal would create a new hallmark in the fast-converging media, communications and Internet industries.

The deal could happen "as early as this weekend", EFE news quoted the financial daily as saying.

If it goes through, it would unite AT&T's wireless, broadband and satellite TV services with Time Warner's entertainment empire, which includes the TNT, TBS and CNN cable networks, as well as the premium HBO channel and the Warner Bros. film and television studio.

The negotiations have come together quickly but are "fluid and still could fall through", according to the same sources, who added that there could be delays in reaching an agreement.

AT&T was down nearly 3 per cent on Friday at $37.60 per share in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Time Warner climbed 13.8 per cent on Friday on the NYSE after the news to a 52-week high of $94.44 per share, but its share price then fell and stood at $89.56, up around 8 per cent, shortly before 2.00 p.m.