Re: AT&T's Conditional Approval for MediaOne Purchase
Thread- Some important news about AT&T's plan to by-pass the incumbent telcos twisted copper and go direct to their customers via the coaxial pipe. This should be good news for MSO equipment companies. Especially the ones supplying cable telephony products. -MikeM(From Florida)
___________________________
AT&T/MediaOne Deal OK'd
MediaOne must sell interest in high-speed Internet provider Road Runner
May 25, 2000: NEW YORK- The Department of Justice on Thursday conditionally approved AT&T's proposed $62 billion acquisition of cable television firm MediaOne, clearing one of the last hurdles in a mammoth deal that would make AT&T the nation's largest cable company.
As part of the approval, AT&T, the nation's leading long-distance provider, must divest MediaOne's 25 percent stake in high-speed Internet provider Road Runner no later than Dec. 31, 2001, the Department of Justice said. In the interim, AT&T must keep its management in Road Runner separate from the rest of the company.
"The Road Runner divestiture is an obligation we always assumed we would face, and the decree proposes both a schedule and process that are fair and feasible," said Jim Cicconi, AT&T's general counsel.
In a filing to the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, the Justice Department said AT&T's controlling interest in Excite@Home, a provider of broadband Internet access, and MediaOne's stake in Road Runner would substantially curtail competition in the "aggregation, promotion and distribution of broadband content."
Road Runner is principally owned by MediaOne, Time Warner Inc., Microsoft, and Compaq. Time Warner holds a nearly 40 percent stake in Road Runner, a Time Warner spokesman said.
AT&T, based in New York, has 74 percent voting control plus 25 percent economic interest in Excite@Home, said AT&T spokesman Jim McGann.
Excite@Home, of Redwood City, Calif., is the largest provider of high-speed Internet access while Road Runner, of Herndon, Va., is the nation's second-largest.
AT&T must also obtain Justice Department approval before entering into certain agreements with AOL and Time Warner regarding cable modem or joint residential broadband service, AT&T said. Time Warner is currently involved in a merger with America Online.
|
