AT&T won approval Tuesday of its $85 billion bid for Time Warner, a decision that could pave the way for more mega-deals in the media industry.
A U.S. judge ruled the Justice Department did not sufficiently show that a tie-up would stifle competition or harm consumers. He also tried to dissuade the government from appealing his decision.
The merger of the two companies, announced in October 2016, was closely watched by other media and telecom companies with ambitions to cross over.
Internet providers and cable distributors are looking for new revenue sources to compete with streaming content companies such as Netflix and Amazon.
But the government has been skeptical of the consolidation of content and delivery. The Justice Department sued to block AT&T's deal last November, citing concerns over the telecom company owning both DirecTV and Time Warner.
Tuesday's ruling in favor of AT&T could preclude similar arguments to block mergers down the road.
The cable TV giant Comcast said earlier this week it would submit an all-cash bid as early as Wednesday to buy assets from 21st Century Fox if the AT&T acquisition was approved.
Comcast's bid for Fox could upend Disney's offer, and send that company looking for another target.
Shares of Comcast, Disney, and AT&T were all down after the judge's ruling. Fox and Time Warner stock were rising.
An AT&T spokesman said the company is "gratified" by the decision. The deal is expected to close by June 20.
The labor market continues to defy the Federal Reserve’s attempts at loosening it, with U.S. applications for unemployment benefits down again last week and remaining at historically low levels.
General Motors (GM) announced that it will stop production on the current sixth generation of the iconic Chevrolet Camaro. Production at the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan is expected to end in January 2024.
Web browser Mozilla is investing $30 million into launching a startup, called Mozilla.ai, focused on building a "trustworthy, independent, and open-source AI ecosystem."
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is launching a new plan to avoid flight delays in New York City and Washington, D.C. this summer. The plan will lower requirements for airlines to obtain take off and landing rights to help avoid congestion.
Lawmakers grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Thursday in a high-stakes hearing on the future of the popular, Chinese-owned video sharing platform in the U.S.
Actress Lindsay Lohan appears at the Christian Siriano Fall/Winter 2023 fashion show in New York, Feb. 9, 2023. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday, March 22, that Lohan, rapper Akon and several other celebrities have agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars to settle claims that they promoted crypto investments to their millions of social media followers without disclosing they were being paid to do so.
Cheddar News breaks down what to look for on The Day Ahead, as TikTok CEO is scheduled to testify before Congress on Thursday while earnings from General Mills and Darden Restaurants are on tap. Residential sales data for February is also scheduled to be released.
Virgin Orbit is reportedly in talks for a $200 million rescue plan and the company said in a regulatory filing that it plans to resume operations on Thursday.
