The Justice Department is demanding CNN or DirecTV be sold as condition for the AT&T, Time Warner deal approval.
The Financial Times first reported the Justice Department told AT&T and Time Warner to sell CNN, Time Warner’s cable news network, as a condition in order for the acquisition to go through, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations.
CNBC has confirmed the Justice Department has asked AT&T to sell Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN, or sell DirecTV for merger approval.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized CNN as fake news on his social media Twitter account in the past year.
AT&T’s chief financial officer John Stephens earlier on Wednesday said the timing of its merger deal close with the company is “now uncertain” at the Wells Fargo Media & Telecom Conference in New York City. The company previously said it expected the deal to close by the end of 2017.
Time Warner shares declined nearly 6 percent midday Wednesday after the reports.
When asked about the deal at the conference, Stephens shared the status of negotiations with the government.
“We are in active discussions with the [Department of Justice]. Those are continuing on. I can’t comment on those discussions, but with those discussions, I can now say that the timing of the closing of the deal is now uncertain,” he said, according to a FactSet transcript. “With regards to the transaction, everything continues as we’ve expressed in the past.”
Stephens noted the AT&T acquisition of Time Warner is a “vertical integration” merger across industries. He cited how the government has not blocked a “vertical” deal in more than 40 years.
AT&T announced an agreement to acquire Time Warner in Oct. 2016 for a cash and stock deal valued at more than $85 billion.
Time Warner shares dropped 4 percent on Nov. 2 after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department’s antitrust division is preparing for litigation in case it decides to sue to block the deal.
Source: Tech CNBC
DOJ demands CNN or DirecTV be sold as condition for AT&T, Time Warner deal approval