Report: Comcast Could Drop Bid to Buy Time Warner Cable
An unnamed source told The New York Times of the cable company’s intent to drop the bid after intense regulatory scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Comcast, Time Warner Cable the U.S. Federal Communications Commission offered no comment on the news, but a DOJ spokesperson told CNBC the department would continue its review of the deal. The DOJ said it was “not aware of anything” related to a plan to drop the deal.
The news comes one day after representatives for Comcast met with federal regulators from the DOJ.
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2015/04/22/Justice-Department-meets-with-Comcast-about-looming-45B-merger/6371429752943/?spt=sec&or=bn
Justice officials, who are responsible for ensuring any merger doesn’t violate antitrust laws, met with the cable representatives as the agency nears its final recommendation as to whether the merger should be allowed or not.
The DOJ and FCC are each reviewing the proposal for effectively the same reason — to see if a joint Comcast-Time Warner company is free of potential violations and in the public’s best interest.
Regulators’ primary concern is that the merger would result in a company that wields too much power and makes it extremely difficult for competitors to survive. Comcast, already the nation’s largest cable distributor, wants to buy Time Warner so it can acquire millions of subscribers in the United States’ largest media markets like New York and Los Angeles.
