April 23--Comcast plans to call off its proposed $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable, according to reports Thursday afternoon by Bloomberg News and other media sources.
The deal, which would have created the largest cable and broadcast company in the U.S., had been facing increased scrutiny from federal regulators over concerns it would be anti-competitive and not in the public interest.
The merger needed approval by the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission, and had stalled in recent months because of regulatory changes and mounting concerns over the size of the resulting cable and broadband behemoth.
Comcast agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable in February 2014 in a stock transaction that would have made the nation's largest video and high-speed Internet provider even larger. The combined company would have controlled 30 percent of the cable market and about 55 percent of all broadband connections, sources said.
Bloomberg cited unidentified sources with knowledge of the matter in their report, and said Comcast may make an announcement as soon as Friday.
Comcast and Time Warner Cable declined to comment.
Associated Press contributed.
rchannick@tribpub.com
