AT&T CEO: Appeal of Time Warner Deal 'Changes Nothing'
July 13 2018 - 8:51AM
Dow Jones News
By Drew FitzGerald
AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said his
company won't alter its plans for running Time Warner's media
assets despite a Justice Department appeal of the court decision
that allowed the transaction.
"We think the likelihood of this thing being reversed or
overturned is really remote," Mr. Stephenson told CNBC Friday in an
interview at Allen & Co.'s annual Sun Valley, Idaho, media
conference. "The merger is closed. We own Time Warner."
The Justice Department started the appeals process in a two-page
court filing late Thursday, a move that will send the case to the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. U.S. District Court Judge Richard
Leon ruled against the government in June, writing in a strongly
worded opinion that the department had failed to prove that the
combination of AT&T's television distribution system and Time
Warner's popular cable channels would drive up pay-TV prices.
The June decision allowed AT&T to close its $81 billion
cash-and-stock takeover of Time Warner's assets, which the company
quickly renamed WarnerMedia. It also sparked a flurry of offers and
deals among other media and telecom companies that continues
today.
Comcast Corp. and Walt Disney Co. are now in a bidding war for
certain 21st Century Fox Inc. assets, a situation that only
developed after AT&T won its case, making Comcast confident its
bid wouldn't face too much antitrust risk.
Judge Leon's opinion focused narrowly on the complaint against
AT&T, though Mr. Stephenson said Friday that the appeals
court's decision could have wider ramifications for other
companies.
"A lot of legal minds say that this could be precedent-setting,"
he said. "This really could end up solidifying what the law
is."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 13, 2018 09:36 ET (13:36 GMT)
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