On May 05 Patent Apple posted a report titled "The Sprint and T-Mobile Deal may depend on the AT&T Time Warner Deal Verdict in June. Late today Federal judge clears AT&T's bid for Time Warner. Expect Sprint and T-Mobile bang the merger drum louder this week.

CNBC reports this afternoon that "a federal judge said Tuesday that AT&T's $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner is legal, clearing the path for a deal that gives the pay-TV provider ownership of cable channels such as HBO and CNN as well as film studio Warner Bros.

The judge did not impose conditions on the merger's approval.

The Justice Department sued last year to block the merger, citing concerns that AT&T, owner of satellite television provider DirecTV, could charge rival distributors more for Time Warner content, resulting in higher prices for consumers. But AT&T has countered that the logic doesn't hold up since the point of owning content is to get widespread distribution, which brings in affiliate fees and advertising revenue.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon was expected to issue the decision following a six-week trial.

The outcome of the trial could have implications for future deals in the telecom and media industries, as well as vertical mergers, where a company buys its supplier. Comcast has been eyeing a similar merger to combine production and distribution in a competing bid for Fox and was preparing to announce an offer as soon as Wednesday if Leon ruled in favor of AT&T in the trial, people familiar with the matter told CNBC."

Also see coverage on Fox Business and NASDAQ

2

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.