It only seemed like forever and a day, but final approval of the America Online (dossier)-Time Warner (TWX) merger actually took a year and a day. When the Federal Communications Commission finally voted to approve the $106 billion deal on Thursday, executives from the two giants were ready to celebrate. And why not? Their new company had the final go-ahead to become the world's biggest media conglomerate. "Our brands, services and technologies already touch hundreds of millions of people," company chairman Steve Case said just hours after the FCC vote. "By closely integrating our assets, we will embed the AOL Time Warner experience more deeply into their everyday lives." If possible, that might be an understatement of the company's impressive numbers. Consider:
4 in 5 Number of Web users in the United States who touch one of AOL's properties - including AOL.com, MapQuest and Spinner.com - in a given month. Time Warner Web sites alone attract 20 million U.S. Web surfers each month.
20 Percentage of total U.S. consumer magazine advertising revenue earned by the company in 2000. Time Inc.'s 36 titles include three of the top four earners (People, Time and Sports Illustrated).
6 Number of National League Cy Young Award winners - Greg Maddux won two - produced in the last 10 years. Besides the Atlanta Braves, the company owns the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers.
1 in 3 Chances that a show nominated for a 2000 Emmy was produced by the company. Time Warner's HBO network produces The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Oz. Its Warner Bros. Entertainment division is behind The West Wing, ER and Friends.
40 Percentage of U.S. Web users who send instant messages over AOL services. Once the province of chatty teenagers, instant messaging is becoming a business tool. Yahoo (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT) run competitive services and have pushed regulators to force AOL to make its systems compatible. Last week the FCC refused to do that - at least until multimedia arrives.
$42 billion Decrease in the combined market cap of AOL Time Warner in the 366 days it took to clear the merger's last regulatory hurdle, mostly as a result of AOL's decline from $71 to $47 a share.
