US blocks AT&T bid, calls for sale of CNN

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: US antitrust regulators and AT&T Inc sparred on Wednesday over whether the wireless carrier would be required to sell Time Warner Inc’s CNN network as a condition of approval of its deal to buy the media company.

The justice department has demanded significant asset sales in order to approve the $85.4 billion deal, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, and asked AT&T to sell CNN parent Turner Broadcasting or its Directv satellite TV operation.

AT&T offered to sell CNN, sources said. However, the firm denied that version of events of the meeting with officials.

“I have never offered to sell CNN and have no intention of doing so,” AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Reports that the justice department is pushing for significant asset sales and conflicting reports of its discussions with AT&T cast new doubt on the deal.

The dispute is the latest twist in a deal which took on broader political significance immediately after its inception in October 2016. US President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of CNN, attacked the deal on the campaign trail, vowing that as president his justice department would block it.

He has not commented on the transaction since taking office in January.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said: “The president did not speak with the attorney general about this matter, and no White House official was authorised to speak with the justice department on this matter.”