A US court today gave AT&T approval to go ahead and buy Time Warner without conditions. The ruling arrives after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit in November 2017 to try and stop the deal, which is valued at $85 billion.
The District Court Judge Richard Leon determined that the US government “failed to meet its burden of proof” in their case that this would lessen competition and that they should not seek a stay of his ruling because it would be “manifestly unjust” and unlikely to succeed. He also called their arguments against the deal “gossamer thin” and “poppycock.” That’s pretty good judge trash talk there.
AT&T claims that with a purchase of Time Warner, they’ll be able to compete in the grand scheme of internet and TV into the future. They need Time Warner because they need your information in order to sell advertising and stay in business against companies like Google and Facebook. Yeah, that sounds reassuring to you and I.
This ruling will likely trigger other media merger attempts, like Comcast and Twenty-First Century Fox.
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