Deals
AT&T CEO’s Crusade to Create ‘Modern Media Company’ Under Threat
- Elliott questions Randall Stephenson’s push into entertainment
- Company must pay debt and dividend: ‘How do you fund it all?’
Randall Stephenson
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Randall Stephenson has staked his legacy as AT&T Inc.’s leader on a high-stakes gamble: that he could transform an aging phone giant into what he calls “a modern media company.”
Now, activist investor Elliott Management Corp. is putting pressure on Stephenson by criticizing the blockbuster acquisitions that he oversaw -- and casting fresh doubts on whether AT&T can merge its way to prosperity.