Justice Dept. Takes Reins in Comcast-AT&T; Deal
Antitrust enforcers at the Justice Department asked for more information about Comcast Corp.’s bid to buy AT&T;’s cable operations, the companies said.
Meanwhile, the deal became tangled in a simmering controversy over whether media-related mergers should be reviewed by the Justice Department or antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission.
Consumer groups criticized the Justice Department’s decision to review the acquisition, saying it showed that the FTC had ceded authority for cable-TV transactions. A source close to the matter said FTC Chairman Timothy Muris had decided to cede the agency’s authority.
A spokesman for the FTC declined to comment.
Consumers Union spokesman David Butler said his group is concerned that the Justice Department will be less rigorous in its review of cable-TV mergers than the more bipartisan FTC.
Comcast said it expects the merger will close by the end of this year.
AT&T; rose 35 cents to $14.70 on the NYSE, and Comcast rose $1.44 to $32.55 on Nasdaq.
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