Report: Regulators to Recommend Blocking Comcast Merger

Antitrust lawyers from the U.S. Dept. of Justice are set to recommend blocking the $45.2 billion Comcast–Time Warner Cable merger, according to Bloomberg. They’re concerned that such a large company would harm consumers, Bloomberg reports, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

The Justice Department lawyers have been contacting outside parties in the last few weeks to shore up evidence to support a potential case against the merger, one of the people said.

Furthermore, officials at the antitrust division and the Federal Communications Commission, which is also reviewing the deal, aren’t negotiating with Comcast about conditions to the merger that would resolve concerns, such as selling parts of its business or changing practices, said two people familiar with the situation.

The DOJ decision should come within a week, the article said.

Representatives for both companies told Bloomberg that there’s no basis for the DOJ to block the transaction.

After being first announced in February of 2014, the approval process has dragged on, as consumers have voiced their opinions that such a large company would mean even worse customer service.

The news sent Comcast’s stock down to a low of 57.80 during mid-afternoon trading. It has since rallied to around $58.26 (a 2.4 percent drop for the day.) Time Warner Cable’s stock dipped roughly 5 percent as of 3 p.m.

Follow @JaredShelly on Twitter. Jared is the editor of Philadelphia magazine’s launching-soon business blog, @BizPhilly.