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Three years after its $85 billion merger (sáp nhập) with Time Warner, AT&T is now trying to spin off its media assets and combine them with yet another media conglomerate, Discovery. There will be a lot to say about this attempt to further consolidate the media business, but it’s important to underscore a basic point. The AT&T-Time Warner merger, like most mega-mergers, was a disaster (thảm họa), causing layoffs (sa thải nhân viên), acrimony (sự chua cay, sự gay gắt) among artists (nghệ sĩ), and eroding (làm xói mòn) the HBO brand (thương hiệu), which was one of the highest quality brands in Hollywood.

There was never any logic to this stupid merger except that Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner’s then-CEO, wanted his $400 million golden parachute (chiếc dù vàng: gồm những lợi ích đáng kể được trao cho các CEO nếu công ty bị một công ty khác tiếp quản và họ bị sa thải do sáp nhập hoặc thôn tính). There are times when mergers can be useful, such as if there’s a failing firm, or a business owner wants to retire or try something new. But these mega-mergers are ridiculous (điên rồ, lố bịch). As we rethink merger law, it’s time to recognize that mergers are usually destructive, and corporate leaders should have to prove that a corporate combination is a good idea before the government lets it go forward. That’s how much of 19th century political economy worked, and it made sense. The AT&T-Time Warner fiasco, on top of dozens of other fiascos (thất bại), is a good example of why.

(A key purpose of the new WarnerMedia and Discovery merger is layoffs and reduced power by creators, which is why AT&T is bragging about $3 billion in ‘synergies.’)