U.S. DoJ Suggests Alternatives As AT&T Antitrust Trial Wraps Up

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Justice Department, making its final case against AT&T Inc.'s (T) planned acquisition of Time Warner Inc. (TWX), on Monday urged a judge to consider "alternative" remedies if he chooses not to block the merger outright, according to reports.

The government's comments came as U.S. District Judge Richard Leon set a court hearing for June 12 to announce his ruling in the high-profile case, kicking off a six-week period of anxious waiting for both sides.

The Justice Department lawyer Craig Conrath reportedly sought to hit all of the government's main antitrust claims against the deal and told Leon that he should block the transaction because it would lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in higher prices for consumers.

But Conrath also laid out a fallback position for the government: If the judge decides not to block the whole deal, he should consider forcing AT&T to make a "partial divestiture," the lawyer reportedly said, meaning the company couldn't hold on to all of Time Warner's assets.

Conrath reportedly said Leon could consider allowing AT&T to buy parts of Time Warner, but not the Turner networks, which are a focal point in the government's case. He also floated the possibility that the judge could require other types of "structural" changes to soften the deal's impact on consumers.