The Justice Department said on Thursday it would appeal a federal judge’s approval of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner, extending the government’s legal challenge of the blockbuster deal.
A federal judge signed off on the deal a month ago, saying the federal agency did not sufficiently prove that the merger would harm competition and consumers.
The companies have moved forward with their $85.4 billion agreement, putting an AT&T executive in charge of the media conglomerate that produces HBO hit shows like “Game of Thrones” and the news network CNN.
AT&T and Time Warner executives have said they were confident they would win an appeal of the merger because of the judge’s sweeping rejection of the government’s case.
This story will be updated.
