COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Time Warner Signs Consent Order on Turner: Time Warner Inc. said it signed the order with the staff of the Federal Trade Commission, clearing the way for completion of its $6.7-billion acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System Inc. The order requires approval from the five commissioners of the FTC, which could come soon, officials said. The signing of the consent decree came after months of negotiations between Time Warner and the FTC about ways to prevent the country’s second-largest cable company from controlling too much of the cable market, since one of Turner’s largest shareholders is No. 1 cable operator Tele-Communications Inc. TCI will spin off Southern Satellite into the new company containing its Time Warner stake and will receive an extra $67 million. The next step in the process is for Time Warner to sell the proposed transaction to investors through a road show and then schedule a shareholder vote, possibly in September or October.