Aol/Twx makeFinal offer to FTC!
WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news) and Time
Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - news) have made what they consider their last and best offer to
U.S. antitrust officials as the two sides near the end of negotiations over the companies'
proposed merger, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
The Post quoted unnamed sources as saying Dulles-based AOL and Time Warner have effectively put an end to months of
talks, telling the Federal Trade Commission that they will budge no further on concessions to satisfy regulatory concerns.
The five-member FTC has informed the companies that it is expected to vote on the merger, possibly on Wednesday, but more
likely on Thursday, the Post quoted the sources as saying.
FTC spokesman Eric London declined to comment. AOL spokeswoman Kathy McKiernan and Time Warner spokesman
Edward Adler also declined comment.
AOL Chief Executive Steve Case said on Tuesday he expects AOL's $92 billion acquisition of Time Warner to close by the
end of December or ``by the first days of the new year.''
``We're in the home stretch, and we think it will be approved soon. We're in the last stages with the FTC,'' he said.
AOL and Time Warner officials, who announced their deal nearly a year ago, have lost some patience with the government
after making what they consider a groundbreaking concession, the Post quoted sources as saying.
During the negotiations, the FTC asked the companies to agree to allow a rival Internet provider to offer its service over Time
Warner's high-speed cable television network. The FTC wants to maintain consumer choice and fair prices among Internet
service providers by ensuring that AOL's rivals have nondiscriminatory access to Time Warner's cable system, which covers
about 20 percent of the market.
Last month, Time Warner made a deal with Atlanta-based EarthLink Inc (NasdaqNM:ELNK - news), the nation's
second-largest ISP, that includes a provision under which AOL and Time Warner are required to offer terms to other ISPs that
are at least as favorable as those given to EarthLink, sources told the Post.
AOL and Time Warner entered into the EarthLink deal with great reluctance, but they have refused to agree to an FTC
requirement that Time Warner offer its content, which includes movie and music, to competing ISPs on the same terms as those
given to AOL, the Post quoted sources as saying.
The companies argue that Time Warner does not control more than 20 percent of any content category, thus removing any
antitrust grounds for legal action.
In addition, if Time Warner offered its content to rival ISPs on the same terms as it offered it to AOL, it would remove much of
the incentive for the two companies to merge, sources were quoted as saying.
Some at AOL and Time Warner believe that content remains a significant hurdle for only two out of five commission members,
signaling the companies could still prevail with a three-vote majority.
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AOL, Time Warner Make Their Final Offer to FTC, Post Reports
Dulles, Virginia, Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc. have made a final offer to U.S. regulators to receive approval for their merger, the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
AOL, the world's biggest Internet service company, and Time Warner, the world's largest media company, have told the Federal Trade Commission that they will make no further concessions beyond what they have offered, the paper said, citing the unidentified people.
The FTC told the companies that it expects to have its five- member commission vote on AOL's purchase of Time Warner next Wednesday or Thursday, the paper said. The purchase is now valued at about $115.8 billion. The companies have balked at FTC requests to allow equal access to Time Warner's content to competing Internet service providers, the paper said.
Meanwhile, AOL and Time Warner are planning to give stock options to all of their 85,000 employees after the acquisition is completed, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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Time Warner and AOL to give stock options to all-WSJ
finance.yahoo.com
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AOL, Time Warner Plan Stock Options
For All Employees of Combined Firm
interactive.wsj.com
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