AT&T considering Time Warner acquisition - report

US telecommunications giant AT&T has entered talks to take over Time Warner, according to Bloomberg.

The report suggests that the talks are only informal, as senior executives from both companies have met to discuss building relations between them. However, one of the strategies discussed was a tie-up.

Time Warner owns a wide variety of television and film studios, including HBO, Warner Bros, CNN and Bleacher Report.

According to Bloomberg, Time Warner chief executive officer Jeff Bewkes is open to the sale of the company as long as it receives a satisfactory offer.

One of AT&T's major rivals, Verizon, has shown its intent to branch out further into the digital media industry with its agreement to buy Yahoo's internet business for $4.8bn.

The Dallas-based company has shifted most of its focus over the last decade, going froma regional phone operator to a national telecoms giant. The acqusition may be its latest attempt to branch out into media and entertainment, having already purchased DirecTV for $48.5bn last year.

Some of Time Warner's assets are highly prized by a variety of media companies. Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox offered $80bn, before withdrawing the offer as Bewkes rejected it and asked for a higher valuation.