Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) could announce as soon as Friday that it's walking away from its proposed $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), according to Bloomberg.
The news comes after both the U.S. Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission took steps to block the deal, deciding, in essence, that it's not beneficial for consumers.
On Wednesday, FCC commissioners forwarded their decision to an administrative law judge, a move that has, in the past, signaled the end of other merger gambits, such as AT&T's 2011 bid to acquire T-Mobile (NYSE:TMUS).
Executives for Comcast, which can walk away without a breakup fee, have not yet responded to FierceCable's inquiry for comment.
Wrote media analyst Craig Moffett earlier on Thursday: "No, the Comcast deal isn't dead yet. But it's a bit like an elephant that has been dropped out of an airplane. At around 10,000 feet, it is technically still alive. But it is falling fast, there's not much you can do to stop it, and its odds of survival are pretty low when it hits the ground."
For more:
- read this Bloomberg story
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