US: Comcast/TWC extend merger end date to August

US regulators have slowed Comcast’s $45 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable, rewriting their definition of broadband to paint the largest US cable company as a more dominant force in high-speed internet access.

The FCC redefined broadband as “internet which is actually fast enough to use.” Now, in order to call its service broadband, companies will need to guarantee download speeds of 25 megabits per second or faster and upload speeds of 3 Mbps or faster.

The companies had initially told the SEC they thought the deal would be completed by the end of 2014.

However the FCC is not expected to make a decision on the deal until late spring or early summer because of that court challenge. Oral argument is scheduled for Feb. 20 in the US court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“Comcast and Time Warner Cable agree that the End Date is hereby extended to August 12, 2015, as contemplated by the Merger Agreement,” the companies told the Securities and Exchange Commission.

They informed of their decision to extend in an 8K filing on Thursday.

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