Time Warner CEO says only AT&T approached with offer

[October 24, 2016]  (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said on Monday that AT&T Inc  was the only company to make a takeover approach for the media group.

Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Jeff Bewkes arrives at the 2011 Time 100 Gala ceremony in New York April 26, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

AT&T said on Saturday it had agreed to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion, or $107.50 per share, to gain control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN, film studio Warner Bros, and other coveted media assets.

"Nobody else approached the company for a deal," Bewkes said in an interview on CNBC.

Several media outlets had reported that Apple Inc <AAPL.O> had also been interested in acquiring Time Warner.

Time Warner's shares were down 1.4 percent at $88.19 before the opening bell on Monday. AT&T's shares were down 2.3 percent at $36.62.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.