Report: AT&T, DirecTV Merger Likely To Be Approved By Justice Dept. With No Conditions

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It’s been over a year since AT&T and DirecTV publicly announced their intention to become one big happy mega-media company, and the two are clearly getting a little restless waiting for their approvals. However, it looks like they are about to get the green light they so badly want. Bloomberg News has the scoop (as they did for the Comcast/TWC merger), and the business news site is reporting that the Department of Justice is ready to give this one the go-ahead. Media mega-mergers have to be approved by two agencies: the Antitrust Division at DoJ, which scrutinizes them for competitive concerns, and the FCC, which scrutinizes whether they are going to harm or to promote the public interest. According to Bloomberg, this merger’s now officially cleared one of those hurdles, as DoJ officials have closed their investigation without even demanding any conditions be applied to the merger. The final decision over whether or not to approve the merger has not yet been made, and representatives for the DoJ declined to comment to Bloomberg about the matter. Just because the Justice Department is not imposing conditions, however, does not mean none will be imposed. The FCC still has to do its work, and AT&T has made a massive pile of promises to that agency about benefits the merger could deliver, including increasing their GigaPower footprint, increasing competition with Comcast, and increasing broadband penetration in underserved, rural areas. AT&T Said to Win Antitrust Approval for DirecTV With FCC Pending [Bloomberg]

1. by Kate Cox
2. via Consumerist

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