AT&T’s Time Warner merger talks with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are making headway despite the Senate’s failure to confirm an antitrust chief for the agency and President Donald Trump’s previous opposition to the deal.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, discussions between AT&T and the DOJ have reached an “advanced stage.” The outlet reported the pair are currently hashing out merger conditions. Though the process is confidential, AT&T General Counsel David McAtee commented that the proceedings are “on track from our perspective.” AT&T has indicated previously it expects to wrap up the deal by the end of this year.
The report indicates the DOJ’s antitrust arm is looking for AT&T to address a handful of key concerns. Those include making sure the carrier doesn’t favor its own content over that of competitors, and whether the carrier will make customer data available to rivals at a fair price.
The ongoing discussions continue despite the absence of an antitrust chief at the DOJ. The Senate failed to confirm Trump’s pick for the slot, Makan Delrahim, before leaving for its August recess. The Senate doesn’t head back to Capitol Hill until after the Labor Day holiday.
The forward movement of the conversations also comes despite Trump’s pushback on the deal during his presidential campaign. As of January, reports indicated Trump was still opposed to the deal, though he did meet with AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson that month to discuss “how AT&T can work with the Trump administration to increase investment in the U.S.” and “stimulate job creation in America.”
Wells Fargo Senior Analyst Jennifer Fritzsche earlier this year noted Trump’s opinion will likely have little impact on the Justice Department’s decision, but observed that fact doesn’t mean the administration won’t try to wield some influence.
Still, Fritzsche and Recon Analytics’ Roger Entner both observed the DOJ has “never stopped a vertical merger in the telecom/media space.”
More on why AT&T is pursuing the Time Warner deal and what its industry implications might be can be found here.