An appeals court has upheld the AT&T-Time Warner merger

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AT&T President and CEO Randall Stephenson

• An appeals court on Tuesday has upheld the AT&T-Time Warner merger in a victory to AT&T.
• The court rejected the DOJ's argument that a federal judge didn't understand the case.
• Barring a further appeal, the ruling ends a years-long fight between AT&T and the government.

An appeals court has affirmed the AT&T-Time Warner merger.

The ruling came down Tuesday, more than eight months after federal judge Richard Leon approved the $85 billion merger between AT&T and Time Warner in one of the most anticipated antitrust rulings in decades.

The US Department of Justice appealed the decision, arguing that US District Judge Richard Leon fundamentally didn't understand its antitrust case. The DOJ originally argued that the merger would hurt competition and allow AT&T to hike prices for Time Warner content.

The ruling sealed an anti-trust fight more than two years in the making, and, barring a further appeal by the DOJ, has delivered a victory to AT&T.