Telecom Shares Climb; Scrutiny of AT&T Deal Continues -- Telecoms Roundup

Shares of telecommunications companies climbed.

A top AT&T executive warned that the company is unsure about the timing of its planned takeover of Time Warner, as the combination of the telecom and media giants faces extended antitrust review. John Stephens, AT&T's chief financial officer, said Wednesday at a New York investor conference hosted by Wells Fargo that the timing of the transaction was "now uncertain." Just a few weeks ago, he told investors the company still expected the transaction to close later this year. Mr. Stephens didn't say anything Wednesday to suggest the deal won't be approved but pulled back from that earlier guidance. The Justice Department has raised the prospect that the telecom giant would have to divest either the Turner television unit, which includes CNN along with other cable channels, or the satellite DirecTV business, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

-By Amy Pessetto, amy.pessetto@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 08, 2017 17:53 ET (22:53 GMT)