Comcast Promises Said Not Likely to Sway Antitrust Officials
Comcast Has Its $45B Day With DOJ on Capitol Hill
Justice Department antitrust officials, who are meeting with Comcast Corp. representatives today to air their concerns about the proposed tie-up with Time Warner Cable Inc., aren’t likely to entertain promises that the merged company would change its behavior to win approval.
The leadership at the antitrust division would rather see the No. 1 U.S. cable company sell assets to keep the market competitive or will file a lawsuit to block a deal that hurts consumers, according to people familiar with the officials’ thinking. This view departs from the U.S. antitrust division’s position in a 2011 accord that allowed Comcast to agree to a string of so-called behavioral remedies to buy NBCUniversal.