Based on the longitudinal case study of AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner, it revealed how the performance improvement of M&A for heterogeneous asset was achieved by business model innovation in the digital economy era . The study found that the M&A for heterogeneous asset can improve the performance of acquirer enterprises under specific conditions. Enterprises can innovate business models from four themes of novelty, complementarity, lock-in and efficiency, the dynamic capabilities of an enterprise can help it identify and acquire appropriate heterogeneous assets, promote business model innovation and build a new resource capability foundation after mergers and acquisitions, thereby improving M&A performance. The research provides a reference for how the acquisition of heterogeneous assets by enterprises can improve performance through business model innovation in the digital economy era, and how the telecom operators can integrate heterogeneous assets to promote business model innovation and the digital transformation.