US government appeals antitrust litigation with AT & T

D The US government does not abandon its opposition to the takeover of the Time Warner media group by telecom giant AT & T. After an antitrust lawsuit failed, the Department of Justice announced Thursday (local time) an appeal against the verdict. This is apparent from the relevant court request. The government of President Donald Trump complained about the measures taken against the mega-deal of more than $ 80 billion, it was too much commercial power and disadvantages for competitors and customers.

AT & T apparently did not expect what would appeal. "The court's decision could not have been more complete, fact-based and thoughtful," said AT & T Chief Justice David McAtee. Although the losing party always has the right to challenge a judgment, it is surprising, given the circumstances, that the Department of Justice wishes to take advantage of it. "We are ready to defend the court's decision in the court of appeal," the statement said

. During a six-week trial, counsel for the Attorney General did not convince the competent judge, Richard Leon, of their arguments. Leon stirred the merger in June without any restrictions, then the companies quickly implemented

Trump's personal defeat

For President Trump, the decision was a personal defeat – he disagrees with CNN and had repeatedly spoken publicly against the merger with AT & T. Already during the election campaign, Trump had announced that he would prevent the deal.

Companies rarely dispute antitrust litigation with the government as a powerful opponent. Everything was all the more alive last month in the face of the clear defeat of the Trump government. If the case is reopened and can still be decided in favor of the Department of Justice, this would also be of great importance to mergers and acquisitions in the United States. The lawsuit has also received a lot of attention because AT & T and Time Warner are not direct competitors in terms of their business model. Such "vertical" mergers are traditionally less disturbing.

With the acquisition of Time Warner, AT & T associates with the Turner Network, which includes CNN, the Warner Bros. movie studio and the Pay TV channel HBO ("Game of Thrones"). Originally, the merger, which was decided in October 2016, should have been in dry air by the end of 2017, but because of the antitrust lawsuit, it became a hangover. Now, the mobile giant in Dallas, Texas, must still shake. Investors reacted slightly to the call – AT & T action fell after school hours and dropped by more than 1%.