AW and all: New Wave of Telecom Mergers
Creates Challenge for Regulators
interactive.wsj.com
Excerpts:
But given their actions on previous mergers, it's unlikely that policy makers will do much to block today's pending mergers outright. They may, however, require companies to divest some assets or agree to conditions designed to spur competition, as was imposed on the merger between MCI Communications Corp. and WorldCom Inc. earlier this month.
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The FCC has wider legal latitude to block mergers. The politically appointed, five-member panel must find that a merger serves the "public interest." While the agency hasn't blocked a significant merger, under former Chairman Reed Hundt it forced Bell Atlantic to accept market-opening conditions when the company acquired Nynex Corp. last year.
Since he became FCC chairman, Mr. Kennard has hinted that he won't be a pushover. But Mr. Kennard, a Democrat, has just one voice among five. Paul Misener, an aide to Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth, a Republican, said the FCC's review is "redundant" once the Justice Department has allowed a merger.
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