After reports this past week that government regulators were concerned about Comcast’s mega-deal to buy rival Time Warner Cable, Comcast officially announced this morning that it is dropping its $45.2 billion bid.
Comcast first announced its plan to buy TWC in February 2014, but it was never set in stone. On April 17, Bloomberg reported that antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department were planning on recommending to top officials to reject the deal and file a federal lawsuit.
On Thursday, Comcast had a meeting with the Federal Communications Commission, which said it was leaning towards a possible months-long hearing. That would have also delayed the deal. Then, Bloomberg’s sources said that Comcast was about to drop the deal altogether.
This morning, Comcast made that official, with CEO Brian L. Roberts noting that, “Today, we move on.”
“Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities, but we structured this deal so that if the government didn’t agree, we could walk away,” Roberts continued. “Comcast NBCUniversal is a unique company with strong momentum. Throughout this entire process, our employees have kept their eye on the ball and we have had fantastic operating results. I want to thank them and the employees of Time Warner Cable for their tireless efforts. I couldn’t be more proud of this company and I am truly excited for what’s next.”
Had the deal gone through, Comcast would have made up a third of the market. It is still the largest cable provider in the country, even without TWC.
for more TV news, follow Daniel on Twitter
image from Comcast.com