AT&T has been told by the US Department of Justice that it needs to sell CNN, Time Warner’s cable news channel, to gain approval for its $84.5bn acquisition of the media company, according to three people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
The sale of CNN, which President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised as “fake news”, is just one of the demands being made by the US antitrust authority in order to sign off on the deal, those involved in the talks said. But it could prove a stumbling block.
AT&T is opposed to selling the TV network and is preparing to take the Trump administration to court, arguing the deal with Time Warner does not pose any threat to competition.