Comcast Said Planning to Drop Offer for Time Warner Cable (1)
2015-04-23 19:20:52.590 GMT
(Updates with FCC stance starting in third paragraph.)
By Alex Sherman
(Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp. is planning to walk away from
its proposed $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc., people
with knowledge of the matter said, after regulators planned to oppose
the deal.
Comcast is planning to make a final decision on its plans
Thursday, and an announcement on the deal’s fate may come as soon
as Friday, said one of the people, who asked not to be named
discussing private information.
This week, U.S. Federal Communications Commission staff
joined lawyers at the Justice Department in opposing the planned
transaction. FCC officials told the two biggest U.S. cable companies
on Wednesday that they are leaning toward concluding the merger
doesn’t help consumers, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
An FCC hearing can take months to complete and effectively
kill a deal by dragging out the approval process beyond the
companies’ time frame for completion. Justice Department staff
is also leaning against the deal, Bloomberg reported last week.
Comcast shares rose 2.2 percent to $60.06 at 3:07 p.m. in
New York, while Time Warner Cable climbed 0.5 percent.
Sena Fitzmaurice, a spokeswoman for Comcast, declined to
comment.
While the DOJ has to present a case in court to block the
deal, an FCC hearing referral could prove to be the bigger
obstacle to Comcast’s bid to expand its cable and Internet
footprint.
The last time the FCC staff proposed sending a merger to a
hearing was over AT&T Inc.’s bid to buy T-Mobile USA Inc. in
2011, prompting the companies to drop the deal. The Justice
Department had already brought a lawsuit seeking to block the
merger.
Comcast representatives came away from the FCC meeting with
the impression the deal was in trouble, according to a person
familiar with the matter.
For Related News and Information:
Comcast Seen Facing Painful Choices in Bid for Merger Approval
Top Stories:TOP<GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alex Sherman in New York at +1-212-617-8278 or
asherman6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mohammed Hadi at +1-212-617-2914 or
mhadi1@bloomberg.net
Elizabeth Wollman
2015-04-23 19:20:52.590 GMT
(Updates with FCC stance starting in third paragraph.)
By Alex Sherman
(Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp. is planning to walk away from
its proposed $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc., people
with knowledge of the matter said, after regulators planned to oppose
the deal.
Comcast is planning to make a final decision on its plans
Thursday, and an announcement on the deal’s fate may come as soon
as Friday, said one of the people, who asked not to be named
discussing private information.
This week, U.S. Federal Communications Commission staff
joined lawyers at the Justice Department in opposing the planned
transaction. FCC officials told the two biggest U.S. cable companies
on Wednesday that they are leaning toward concluding the merger
doesn’t help consumers, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
An FCC hearing can take months to complete and effectively
kill a deal by dragging out the approval process beyond the
companies’ time frame for completion. Justice Department staff
is also leaning against the deal, Bloomberg reported last week.
Comcast shares rose 2.2 percent to $60.06 at 3:07 p.m. in
New York, while Time Warner Cable climbed 0.5 percent.
Sena Fitzmaurice, a spokeswoman for Comcast, declined to
comment.
While the DOJ has to present a case in court to block the
deal, an FCC hearing referral could prove to be the bigger
obstacle to Comcast’s bid to expand its cable and Internet
footprint.
The last time the FCC staff proposed sending a merger to a
hearing was over AT&T Inc.’s bid to buy T-Mobile USA Inc. in
2011, prompting the companies to drop the deal. The Justice
Department had already brought a lawsuit seeking to block the
merger.
Comcast representatives came away from the FCC meeting with
the impression the deal was in trouble, according to a person
familiar with the matter.
For Related News and Information:
Comcast Seen Facing Painful Choices in Bid for Merger Approval
Top Stories:TOP<GO>
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alex Sherman in New York at +1-212-617-8278 or
asherman6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mohammed Hadi at +1-212-617-2914 or
mhadi1@bloomberg.net
Elizabeth Wollman