Trump's DOJ reportedly demands Time Warner sell CNN - or AT&T deal gets blocked

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Trump's DOJ reportedly demands Time Warner sell CNN - or AT&T deal gets blocked

Trump CNN

AP/Wilfredo Lee

Republican presidential candidate, businessman Donald Trump, speaks during the Republican presidential debate sponsored by CNN, Salem Media Group and the Washington Times at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Fla.

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The US Department of Justice has informed AT&T that it must sell CNN if it wants approval for its $84.5 billion acquisition of Time Warner, according to a Financial Times report citing people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

The proposed divestiture of CNN is just one of multiple demands being made by regulators, which are assessing antitrust concerns surrounding the AT&T-Time Warner deal, the FT report said. It is, however, the condition viewed as the most likely sticking point, since AT&T has opposed it in the past and argued the deal isn't anti-competitive.

This latest development throws into question the timetable laid out by both companies in late October, when they the deal would be completed by the end of 2017.

(This story is developing. Check back for more updates.)

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