IP: AOL and Time Warner Flex Their Lobbying Muscle

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

By John Mintz and John Schwartz

Washington Post Staff Writers

Saturday, January 22, 2000; Page E1

America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc., facing scrutiny of their proposed 
$183 billion merger by congressional committees, federal regulators and 
antitrust enforcers, have been signing up teams of lobbyists to minimize 
any political damage that might complicate their plans.

While AOL's acquisition of the giant media company is expected to 
eventually pass antitrust muster, executives from both companies have been 
alarmed by the pointed questions being raised by some members of Congress, 
industry officials said, including concerns poised by two powerful Senate 
committee chairmen running for president. The firms fear a rocky reception 
on Capitol Hill could further erode their stock prices and damage their 
bargaining position on other complex regulatory matters.

AOL, which is based in Dulles and is the nation's largest

<snip>

http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/A12297-2000Jan21.html