US: Trump is against AT&T-Time Warner deal, Bloomberg reports

US President-elect Donald Trump has told a confidant that he still opposes the AT&T-Time Warner mega-merger, according to a Bloomberg News report.

He believes the deal would put too much power in the hands of the media industry, people close to Trump told Bloomberg News. His chief strategist, Steve Bannon, is also against the deal, the report said. The Bloomberg News report said the friends who spoke to Trump “asked not to be identified because the conversation was private.”

Trump has not publicly spoken about the AT&T-Time Warner merger since the election. He has sent conflicting signals about the $108.7 billion deal that’d combine the Dallas-based telecom company and New York media company. On the campaign trail, he called it “an example of the power structure I’m fighting” and vowed to block it. But since the election, Trump has been surrounded by merger-friendly telecom and antitrust advisers.

After the election, Trump’s transition team met with some AT&T officials and reassured them about the acquisition, The Financial Times reported. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said he felt optimistic about the Trump administration and said AT&T would thrive under it.

Full Content: Bloomberg

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.