Comcast Joins List of Telecom Mega-Deals Blocked by Regulators

First it was WorldCom Inc. and Sprint Communications Inc. Then it was DirecTV and Dish Network Corp., followed by AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc. Now Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. have joined the list.

The four largest deals killed by U.S. regulatory opposition have involved telecommunications companies. Comcast said Friday it’s dropping its $45.2 billion bid for Time Warner Cable, the second-largest deal pulled because of antitrust concerns, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. WorldCom and Sprint called off their whopping $129 billion merger in 2000, after the Justice Department filed to block the deal.