AT&T emerged victorious on Tuesday, February 26, over the Trump administration’s attempts to block its US$85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner as the US Justice Department (DOJ) stated it would not fight an appeals court ruling approving the deal.
The acquisition had been closely watched in political circles after coming under fire from US President Donald Trump, who opposed it because he saw it helping Time Warner’s CNN unit, which he has accused of broadcasting “fake news.”
The three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled unanimously in favor of the deal on Tuesday, saying that the government’s case that the merger would result in higher consumer prices was “unpersuasive.” The decision ended a 15-month effort by the DOJ to block the deal.
It was AT&T’s second major court victory against the DOJ, setting the stage for the No. 2 wireless carrier to integrate its WarnerMedia business as well as its new Xandr advertising unit.
“We are grateful that the Court of Appeals considered our objections to the District Court opinion. The department has no plans to seek further review,” DOJ spokesman Jeremy Edwards said in a statement.
Makan Delrahim, the head of the DOJ’s antitrust division, telephoned AT&T General Counsel David McAtee and Time Warner’s former general counsel, Paul Cappuccio, to congratulate them on the court victory, according to a source familiar with events.
McAtee stated the merger “has already
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