AT&T's Good News Comes With A Hidden Disconcerting Admission [telecom]

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By Max Greve

Summary

• Approval of DOJ Anti-Trust division chief removes the Senate's leverage over the deal.

• Brazilian objections will not derail it, as AT&T can simply divest those assets if absolutely necessary.

• However, their willingness to do so signifies some more concerning things about the company's previous merger, with DIRECTV.

• Despite the merger's prospects, I do not recommend going long AT&T.

I have long been somewhat more skeptical of the prospects for the merger between AT&T and TimeWarner than most. Though my skepticism started to ease when the FCC removed itself from the review process earlier this year, I still argued that there was "a non-negligible chance it is blocked."