Liberty Interactive/GCI Poses No Competition Harm, They Tell FCC
Liberty Interactive's proposed $1.12 billion buy of Alaska-based General Communication Inc. (GCI) "will promote stability and investment" in Alaska while creating no foreseeable harm to competition, the companies said in a consolidated application for consent to transfer control posted Tuesday.…
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They said the transaction "will have limited practical effect on ... day-to-day operations" since GCI's communications subsidiaries will go unchanged, but provide GCI with "more stable access to financial markets" and more resources for executing its business plan. GCI's operating businesses also will be more insulated from Alaska-specific market fluctuations, they said. Pointing to GCI's nearly complete Terra "ring" of more than 2,000 miles of fiber and microwave links, they said the deal would put GCI on better footing "to execute on these projects in the future." They said there's no overlap of GCI and its subsidiaries with any Liberty Interactive entities, and the Liberty entities that will be part of GCI Liberty don't offer any FCC-regulated services. They said GCI Liberty will hold a noncontrolling interest in Charter Communications, but there's no overlap in any markets served. The deal is expected to face few regulatory headwinds (see 1704040048).