AT&T and Time Warner continue to rack up international approvals for their proposed $85 billion merger and can now check Chile’s OK off the list.
The Chilean Fiscalía Nacional Económica (FNE) is the latest to sign off on the deal, after both Mexico and the European Union OK’d the blockbuster transaction.
AT&T said that Chile is requiring “targeted behavioral conditions to address specific competition issues” as part of the FNE’s approval of the transaction. However, the FNE’s approval won’t require AT&T or Time Warner to sell or divest any assets.
AT&T has an office in Santiago, Chile, and offers services including mobile and IP voice in the country as part of its larger presence across Latin America and the Caribbean region.
In 2010, Time Warner bought television network Chilevision for $150 million.
With Chile's approval, AT&T and Time Warner said they have received merger approval from 17 competition authorities outside the United States.
"The AT&T-Time Warner merger will combine premium content with the networks to deliver that content on any screen viewers want," said David McAtee, senior executive vice president and general counsel at AT&T, in a statement. "We appreciate the FNE's diligent work to evaluate and approve this merger on the strength of its benefits to competition in Chile and, most importantly, Chilean consumers."
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Although the companies are still awaiting final approval from the U.S. Justice Department, AT&T and Time Warner anticipate the deal will be officially closed by the end of 2017. Recent reports have indicated that the deal is in the final stages of the approval process. According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal is now being discussed by regulators in terms of merger conditions that will be placed on the combined company.
According to Bloomberg, before the deal is given the U.S. government’s go-ahead, AT&T is being asked to make vows of good behavior, including not granting unfair preference for its own programming. If the deal is approved, AT&T will own Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO and Turner networks including CNN, TBS and TNT.