AT&T a step closer to DirecTV deal

Antitrust officials appear poised to clearmerger

AT&T’s $48.5 billion deal to buy DirecTV is set to be cleared by U.S. antitrust officials without any conditions, said a person familiar with deliberations by the Justice Department.

The merger still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which could demand concessions such as following the agency’s net neutrality rules. The deal would form the largest U.S. paytelevision company.

Justice Department officials closed their investigation without demanding any conditions, such as promises about fair treatment of Internet traffic, or demanding the sale of business units, said the person who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

The final decision about the review rests with the antitrust division’s leadership. Emily Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, declined to comment about the review. The department assesses mergers for potential harm to competition.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on June 18 said the agency would move “with dispatch” on the deal and didn’t say when a decision may come. Kim Hart, an FCC spokeswoman, declined to comment.

AT&T and DirecTV executives have held discussions with FCC staff in recent weeks, saying they’ve already made commitments that will ensure the deal serves the public.

The companies have said they will expand broadband coverage. AT&T had promised for three years to honor FCC open- Internet restrictions established in 2010. Since the promise, the FCC has set new rules, and AT&T has joined legal challenges to them.

The purchase would bring AT&T 34 million TV subscribers, including almost 13 million in Latin America, where AT&T seeks to grow its business. The Dallas-based company would have 26 million U.S. video customers; for comparison, cable leader Comcast Corp. has about 22 million video subscribers.

DirecTV, without its own phone service or a competitive Internet offering, is under pressure to find a partner as more viewers go online for video and the pool of traditional pay-TV customers shrinks in the U.S.

AT&T and DirecTV proposed the deal in May 2014.

AT&T is contending with a low-growth U.S. mobile marketand competition from Verizon Communications, Sprint and T-Mobile US.

DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer declined to comment, as did AT&T spokesman Brad Burns.