AT&T, Time Warner extend merger deadline amid pending DOJ approval

AT&T and Time Warner are extending the deadline for their pending merger as they wait for approval from the Department of Justice.  

Both companies agreed to an extension “for a short period of time to facilitate obtaining final regulatory approval required to close the merger,” according to a filing AT&T made with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

The $85 billion deal had received approval on Wednesday from Brazil, one of the last countries AT&T and Time Warner need to complete the deal. The deal has already been cleared by regulators in Mexico, Chile and Europe.

{mosads}AT&T still expects the deal to be completed by the end of the year but is waiting to receive clearance from the Justice Department. Experts say the agency is likely to approve the deal because of its proclivity to clear vertical mergers between companies in different industries.

Makan Delrahim, Trump’s nominee to head the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, was recently approved to assume his spot at the agency after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) lifted her hold on the appointee.