AT&T/TW Extend Merger Termination Date; AT&T Complying With DirecTV Conditions

AT&T and Time Warner are extending the termination date of their merger agreement "for a short period" while they continue to seek DOJ regulatory approval, AT&T said in an SEC filing Monday. AT&T said it still expects to close on the deal by year's end and the merger agreement included the right to extend if government reviews of the deal went beyond Sunday, which was the termination date. The deal got Brazilian antitrust OK last week (see 1710180038), leaving only DOJ approval outstanding. Meanwhile, the fourth independent compliance officer report on AT&T/DirecTV conditions, posted Monday in docket 14-90, said the company "demonstrated its commitment to satisfying" the conditions. It said AT&T has offered 1 Gbps fiber to the premises service to E-rate eligible schools or libraries in its fiber to the premises FTTP and contiguous footprint. AT&T was required to deploy FTTP service to 12.5 customer locations within four years, but its FTTP deployment numbers were redacted in the report.