Posted on 06/12/2018 1:49:31 PM PDT by Red Badger
AT&T announced that it was buying Time Warner for $85.4 billion in October 2016. The Justice Department sued last year to block the merger, citing concerns that AT&T, owner of satellite television provider DirecTV, could charge rival distributors more for Time Warner content, resulting in higher prices for consumers. The outcome of the trial could have implications for future deals in the telecom and media industries, as well as vertical mergers, where companies combine with their suppliers.
A federal judge said Tuesday that AT&T's $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner is legal, clearing the path for a deal that gives the pay-TV provider ownership of cable channels such as HBO and CNN as well as film studio Warner Bros.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon did not impose conditions on the merger's approval.
Shares of Time Warner jumped nearly 5 percent in extended trading. Shares of AT&T dropped more than 2 percent.
The Justice Department sued last year to block the merger, citing concerns that AT&T, owner of satellite television provider DirecTV, could charge rival distributors more for Time Warner content, resulting in higher prices for consumers. But AT&T has countered that the logic doesn't hold up since the point of owning content is to get widespread distribution, which brings in affiliate fees and advertising revenue.
The decision comes after a six-week trial.
AT&T, also the No. 2 wireless carrier in the U.S., said it was buying Time Warner in October 2016 to diversify its revenues and also become a media powerhouse that could attract consumers by bundling entertainment with mobile service. CEO Randall Stephenson has said the deal would help AT&T compete against tech giants like Amazon and Netflix, which are investing more in content.
The outcome of the trial will likely have implications for future deals in the telecom and media industries, as well as vertical mergers, where a company buys its supplier. Comcast has been eyeing a similar merger to combine production and distribution in a competing bid for Foxand was preparing to announce an offer as soon as Wednesday if Leon ruled in favor of AT&T in the trial, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Back to the rise of the monopolies in the ever cyclical world of business and law.
Sessions screws up again...
Boooooo!
Monopolies=Easier for the government to control.
Not good, in my opinion.
Not yet......
Sessions will decide if the judge is wrong and if an appeal is necessary
simple fix:
Make ownership of stock in any corporation legal only for living, breathing human beings and then limit their percentage of ownership to no more than 1.5%
if you want own a business outright, start one from the ground up.
Sessions is too busy trying to find somebody smoking a joint.
You have regurgitated the group think
Well the results certainly seem to suggest it.
Remember if you will...... you have no clue about what the DOJ is actually doing
You like riding the band wagon and making unwarranted assertions
They should just combine all large corporations into one big company and get it over with. /s
AT&T puts itself back together like the Terminator T-2000......................
Allegedly there are 35+ thousand sealed indictments ready to go? This is nonsense and I would be happy to hear there was 35.
Lol, good one.
Crapcast and Fox merging is a different combination because of Xfinity and the cable operations.
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