July 18, 2001: Although AT&T unanimously rejected Comcast Corp.'s hostile bid for its cable TV unit AT&T Broadband, the telecom giant announced it was willing to sell the cable unit for the right price suggesting a possible deal could be made. Only a year earlier, the old Ma Bell had become the largest cable provider in the U.S. with the $44 billion purchase of MediaOne. Shortly after closing the deal, however, Ma Bell had fallen on rough times as its consumer long-distance business began to slump as Baby Bells and wireless providers began stealing market share. Consequently, AT&T planned to split itself into four companies: AT&T Business, AT&T Consumer, AT&T Broadband and AT&T Wireless, which was the only unit to actually separate from the parent. Consequently, Comcast seized the opportunity to grab a larger stake of the cable business by offering AT&T $58 billion. A year later, the two companies agreed on a deal.—Matthew Wurtzel
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