Europe green-lights AT&T-Time Warner deal


03/15/2017

The European Commission approved acquisition of telecommunications company AT&T Time Warner for $ 85 billion, writes the Financial Times.



Mike Mozart
The American telecommunications company thus overcame the last of the barriers to completion of the deal, which was announced last year.

Bob Quinn, Head of External and Legal Affairs at AT&T, said: "This is an important endorsement from an authoritative agency, the process of global admission is well under way and we are looking forward to create a company that will bring the next wave of innovation in the media and telecommunications industries."

The main obstacle for the two American companies is the Ministry of Justice, which has long been considering impact of such a major deal on the US telecommunications industry.

The companies said they expect to close the deal before the end of 2017.

The transaction on acquisition of Time Warner by AT & T was under threat, as former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recommended the then head of the White House, Barack Obama, block the deal.

Sanders was confident that the merger of the two telecommunications companies would lead to higher prices for ordinary Americans and would limit their choice. Before the election, Trump also promised to block the deal.

According to Trump, approval of the deal will concentrate too much power in hands of a small group of people. Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton herself did not comment on this topic, but her spokeswoman said that the deal requires detailed consideration and more information.

Time Warner, founded in 1990, owns the over-the-top HBO channel, which produces series "The Game of Thrones" and "Westworld," also the Warner Bros. film studio, which in 2016 presented "Batman vs. Superman" and "The Suicide Squad". Time Warner had a bad experience of combining the Internet and premium content. It merged with AOL in 2000, but then the companies parted again.

AT&T traces its history from the Bell Telephone, created in the 70s of the 19th century by the inventor of the phone Alexander Bell.

source: ft.com