Comcast Corp. has abandoned its attempt to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. after federal regulators said the proposed $45 billion deal would give Comcast an unfair advantage in the broadband services market.
The U.S. Department of Justice said the plan to merge the two largest U.S. cable companies would have made Comcast an “unavoidable gatekeeper” for broadband services.
The deal had faced vocal criticism from some politicians, media company executives and consumer advocate.
Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler said the merger would have posed an “unacceptable risk to competition and innovation.”
“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,” said Brian Roberts, chief executive officer of Philadelphia-based Comcast.
In a separate release, Time Warner Cable CEO Robert Marcus said his New York-based company remains strong. “Throughout this process, we’ve been laser-focused on executing our operating plan and investing in our plant, products and people,” Marcus said.
