US: Justice Department approaches states to block AT&T-Time Warner deal: source

The US Justice Department has approached state attorneys general to try to win their support for a bid to block telecommunications powerhouse AT&T Inc’s US$85.4 billion deal to buy media and entertainment company Time Warner Inc, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, November 15.

It remained unclear which states the federal regulator had reached out to or whether any had agreed to join a potential lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal, which was announced in October 2016.

The deal has faced an antitrust review stretching more than a year and has become a political flashpoint because of Republican President Donald Trump’s vow as a candidate to block it and his repeated criticism of CNN, owned by Time Warner.

The source briefed on the matter said the department had reached out to a group of 18 state attorneys general that earlier opted to join the review to see if they wanted to join a lawsuit. State attorneys general have been assessing whether the deal could harm competition, and they interviewed industry officials this summer as part of the review, the source added.

The department failed to convince any states to sign on to a potential lawsuit, CNBC reported, citing sources. CNBC had previously reported that two states agreed to support the lawsuit.

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