[Infowarrior] - DOJ Said Leaning Against Comcast Deal

[Richard Forno]

U.S. Antitrust Lawyers Said Leaning Against Comcast Deal

by David McLaughlinTodd Shields
1:56 PM EDT 
April 17, 2015

Staff attorneys at the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust division are nearing a recommendation to block Comcast Corp.’s bid to buy Time Warner Cable Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

Attorneys who are investigating Comcast’s $45.2 billion proposal to create a nationwide cable giant are leaning against the merger out of concern that consumers would be harmed and could submit their review as soon as next week, said the people. The division’s senior officials will then decide whether to file a federal lawsuit seeking to block the tie-up.

Comcast shares dropped 2.1 percent to $58.42 in New York, while Time Warner Cable fell 5.4 percent to $149.61. The spread between the current prices and the offer price widened to $18.35 from $13.35 yesterday, indicating investors are more pessimistic about the deal winning regulatory approval.

A rejection of the deal would be a blow to Comcast, which has sought to gain valuable cable assets in major U.S. cities including New York and Los Angeles, where Time Warner Cable is dominant. Expanding Comcast’s broadband Internet and video footprint would help it better compete with satellite, Web and telecommunications competitors that have taken hundreds of thousands of TV subscribers from the Philadelphia-based company in recent years.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-17/u-s-antitrust-lawyers-said-to-be-leaning-against-comcast-merger

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