AT&T will reportedly face an antitrust lawsuit over its $84.5 billion Time Warner deal
- The US Department of Justice will reportedly file an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T with regards to its proposed acquisition of Time Warner.
- This follows a period filled with reports that the DOJ demanded AT&T and Time Warner sell Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN.
AT&T's rocky quest to complete its acquisition of Time Warner just hit another speed bump.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly set to sue the company to block its $84.5 billion takeover of Time Warner, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
The news of the antitrust lawsuit follows a contentious period that included reports that the DOJ demanded AT&T and Time Warner sell Turner Broadcasting, the group of channels that includes CNN, in order to receive approval for the deal.
AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson countered those reports by saying he'd never been under pressure from the DOJ to sell CNN.
An AT&T spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
AT&T's stock slid on the news but still traded 0.4% higher on Monday afternoon, while Time Warner shares slipped 1.1% for the day.
