Steve Mehs
10-31-02, 04:39 AM
More talk surfaced Wednesday on what could be the eventual demise of the proposed merger between EchoStar and DirecTV, with suggestions going around that the Justice Department's antitrust staff is an official announcement away from blocking the billion-dollar deal.
According to a new wave of reports, Justice Department attorneys are preparing to file a lawsuit that aims block the merger on the grounds that the combination would be anti-competitive. Filing of the lawsuit, a standard procedure for Justice Department efforts to block mergers it doesn't like, could occur within days.
Earlier this week, EchoStar and DirecTV proposed remedies to Justice Department staff to ease concerns about their merger. One concession offered to the Justice Department was the forfeiture of orbital capacity and a satellite to Cablevision's proposed DBS service, Rainbow DBS.
In a statement, Cablevision said. "We remain optimistic that the government will accept the proposed solution, which addresses every concern relating to competition. We expect that approval of the merger with these important conditions will markedly improve satellite service for consumers across the nation, especially with regard to original programming, cost of service, HDTV and the delivery of local broadcast channels to all 210 DMAs."
As of press time, there was no official announcement from the Justice Department or EchoStar on a merger decision.
From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com/skyreport/oct2002/103102.shtm#one) (Used with Permission)
According to a new wave of reports, Justice Department attorneys are preparing to file a lawsuit that aims block the merger on the grounds that the combination would be anti-competitive. Filing of the lawsuit, a standard procedure for Justice Department efforts to block mergers it doesn't like, could occur within days.
Earlier this week, EchoStar and DirecTV proposed remedies to Justice Department staff to ease concerns about their merger. One concession offered to the Justice Department was the forfeiture of orbital capacity and a satellite to Cablevision's proposed DBS service, Rainbow DBS.
In a statement, Cablevision said. "We remain optimistic that the government will accept the proposed solution, which addresses every concern relating to competition. We expect that approval of the merger with these important conditions will markedly improve satellite service for consumers across the nation, especially with regard to original programming, cost of service, HDTV and the delivery of local broadcast channels to all 210 DMAs."
As of press time, there was no official announcement from the Justice Department or EchoStar on a merger decision.
From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com/skyreport/oct2002/103102.shtm#one) (Used with Permission)