Judge OKS $85B AT&T-TIME Warner merger
WASHINGTON — A federal judge approved the $85 billion mega-merger of AT&T and Time Warner on Tuesday, a move that could usher in a wave of media consolidation while shaping how much consumers pay for streaming TV and movies.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon green-lit the merger without adding major conditions to the deal. The Trump Justice Department had sued to block the merger, arguing that it would hurt competition in cable and satellite TV and jack up costs to consumers for streaming TV and movies.
Now, the phone and pay-tv giant will be allowed to absorb the owner of CNN, HBO, the Warner Bros. movie studio, “Game of Thrones,” coveted sports programming and other “must-see” shows. The Justice Department could decide to appeal the ruling, however.
“The impact from this decision will have wide reaching ramifications across the telecommunications, media, and tech industry for decades to come,” said GBH Insights analyst Dan Ives. “For AT&T and Time Warner, this is a major victory lap.”
The mega-merger was a highstakes bet by AT&T Inc. on combining
a company that produces news and entertainment with one that funnels it to consumers. The merged company, executives said, would be better able to compete in
AT&T
Clark County, but a recommendation went straight to the board to expedite getting the steel.
Construction managers will seek competitive bids from U.s.-based steel mills in mid- to late July for materials needed to build the exhibition hall and meeting rooms.
LVCVA CEO Rossi Ralenkotter on Tuesday recalled how he’s been trying to buy Irwin Kishner’s old Somerset Gardens and Shopping Center properties for years, making his last run at the property in 2014.
The heirs of Kishner, who died at 84 last year, recently agreed to the sale of the four parcels totaling 8.3 acres for $49.8 million.
The sales agreement says Kishner and his uncle, Herman Kishner, would have a conference room in the new hall named for them.
“We made a fabulous investment today,” Hill said.
The LVCVA continually assesses purchases of land adjacent to the Convention Center campus. To pay for the most recent land acquisition, the board approved a bond sales resolution that will be unrelated to the construction bond issue guaranteed by the 0.5-percentage-point room tax increase authorized by the Legislature in 2016.
The bond issue is expected to occur around August.
The board also authorized $1 million for transaction costs, the relocation of an estimated 80 tenants in the 120-unit apartment and two businesses in the shopping center, and testing and removal of materials once the buildings are demolished.
Tenants have 90-day cancellation clauses on their leases, and the LVCVA intends to bulldoze the buildings as soon as possible.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.