U.S. lays out its arguments in appeal of AT&T merger ruling – Info Advertisement

“The district court’s determination that Time Warner would not have increased bargaining leverage post-merger erroneously disregarded the economics that governs negotiations in this industry and that defendants themselves embraced,” the government said in a filing Monday to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Should the Justice Department win at the appeals court level, it would undo a stinging rebuke for the government and vindicate the decision by the head of the antitrust division, Makan Delrahim, to challenge the Time Warner takeover. The case has been closely watched because it’s the first time in decades a court has decided a merger of companies that operate in a different parts of a supply chain.

The outcome of the appeal could have a broad effect on how antitrust enforcers consider these so-called vertical deals. A loss for the government would set a binding precedent that could restrict future enforcement while a win would enhance the government’s ability to police the deals.

— Bloomberg News