AT&T Asks Court To Let Its Time Warner Megamerger Stand

AT&T asked that a U.S. appeals court uphold the approval of its $85.4 billion Time Warner acquisition on Thursday.

Dallas-based AT&T has been battling with the Department of Justice over its acquisition of Time Warner, which was approved in June by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon.

AT&T said on Thursday in its filing that the Justice Department didn't meet its burden of proof. The DOJ during the first trial said that the deal would lead to higher prices for consumers and was in violation of antitrust laws.

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“We were pleased to respond to the government’s opening brief and look forward to oral argument," David McAtee, general counsel for AT&T, said in a statement.

The DOJ in August announced it would appeal the AT&T-Time Warner megamerger, arguing that Judge Leon didn't understand how the combined company could harm competition and translate to higher prices for customers and rival cable companies that also buy Time Warner's content for their own TV services.

In its August filing, the Justice Department said that the ruling in favor of AT&T ignored "mainstream economics."

The DOJ did not respond to CRN's request for comment prior to publication regarding AT&T's latest filing.

AT&T, which also owns DirecTV, first announced its plans to acquire the entertainment powerhouse in 2016. The carrier closed its acquisition of Time Warner on June 14, and the DOJ had 60 days after the court's ruling to file an appeal by law.

Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.