Facing stiff opposition from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as well as staunch opposition from the Department f Justice and members of Congress, Comcast is reportedly going to drop
plans to acquire Time Warner Cable. A final decision will be made today, and an announcement of the breakdown could be as soon as Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Representatives from the pair of companies met with the Department of Justice on Wednesday, and faced an FCC meeting today, with the matter allegedly headed towards a magistrate judge for ruling in front of the FCC.
Bloomberg reports that Comcast representatives left the FCC meeting apparently under the impression that the regulatory agency was going to torpedo the deal, as it was not in the interest of the public for the pair to merge.
The AT&T and T-Mobile merger was scuttled in 2011, with the last straw being the FCC's threat to send the merger to a hearing. A FCC hearing can take months, if not years, to complete -- and has in the past damaged the financial worthiness of the companies involved in the query, due to the deal taking longer to execute than spelled out to the shareholders.
Neither Comcast nor Time Warner Cable have any comment on the matter. An FCC breakdown on the meeting's topics isn't expected until next month.