It's rare that you'll be able to find a subject on which cable TV companies, the DOJ, and consumers all agree. But that's precisely the case with AT&T's proposed $86 billion acquisition of Time Warner, which they all have been saying will not only harm competition in the space, but drive up costs for consumers. Critics argue that AT&T has long ago proven it has a nasty anti-competitive streak, and that giving AT&T even more power and leverage will only result in that power being weilded to harm competitors. Especially, they highlight with the government's attempts to kill net neutrality protections for consumers.
With AT&T's merger approval in question as the DOJ court case drags on, even some Time Warner executives are starting to wonder if they should give up on the deal and pursue other alternatives.
"Several well-placed Time Warner insiders told me there’s a growing sense that if deliberations were to exceed a twice-extended June 21 deadline, at which point Time Warner could walk away without penalty, the company should perhaps renegotiate its acquisition terms--or go a different route altogether," anonymous insiders at Time Warner told Vanity Fair this week.
A lot of that is driven by the fact that Time Warner's value has grown substantially since the merger was first announced back in 2016. "Certain executives," one source told the outlet, "are now beginning to question if it’s a good idea to just hold out past June 21 to get a better price--from AT&T or someone else."
The Judge overseeing the case warned both the DOJ and AT&T to
speed things up. And if the June 21 deadline for an agreement comes and goes without a deal, it's entirely possible that Time Warner may eat its losses and begin hunting for another suitor. If AT&T loses its court case
before that date, it will also have to convince Time Warner execs to stick it out and wait for appeal, something they may not be keen on.
