Comcast can walk away from its $45 billion offer to buy Time Warner Cable if it is required to abide by government concessions that go beyond any imposed on other major cable deals over the past 12 years, according to SEC documents filed Thursday.
Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gallant said the clause in the deal could give Comcast an easy exit since previous conditions on cable acquisitions, such as AT&T and Adelphia, have been limited.
Regulators may see the language and be reluctant to impose “excessive” conditions, Gallant wrote, but there wouldn’t be the same hesitancy on Capitol Hill to seek conditions.