In a note to investors, BernsteinResearch says it still expects the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger to be approved by the FCC—with conditions—and close by the end of first quarter 2015 or the beginning of the second quarter.
While it notes that sentiment has become more negative on the deal following the FCC's stopping of the shot clock on the transaction, it suggests that and other concerns of investors are overstated.
The BernsteinResearch team, led by senior analyst Paul de Sa, points out that procedural disputes like those that stopped the clock--access to contracts, incomplete filings—are typical in large and controversial mergers. They point out that the clock was stopped once for the Comcast/NBCU merger and twice for the Verizon/SpectrumCo deal (both of which were approved).
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