AT&T shares soared Monday after activist hedge fund manager Elliott Management made a $3.2 billion investment and called for changes such as selling DirecTV and its Mexican wireless operations. The move comes as AT&T readies a streaming service following its $81 billion purchase of Time Warner. It plans to launch HBO Max in the spring of 2020 as more people cut the cord and move to streaming services. But Elliott said AT&T has yet to come
up with a “clear and strategic rationale” as to why it needs to own Time Warner. AT&T has said it wanted to own the media company so it could better compete with online rivals like Netflix and Hulu. AT&T, which owns DirecTV, claims about 25 million of the 90 million U.S. households that are pay TV customers. Elliott bought Barnes & Noble bookstores in June for $467 million. AT&T shares jumped to a nearly two-year high and closed at $36.79.