Altice's Acquisition Of Cablevision Has Been Approved By The FCC

Altice's proposed multi-billion acquisition of

took a step forward on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said that it had approved the merger. European-based Altice initially failed to receive the necessary support for its merger on the grounds that the deal would not favor Cablevision's customers, especially those in the New York City region. Related Link:

According to Reuters, the FCC concluded that the transaction would indeed be in the public's interest as the company vowed to upgrade Cablevision's broadband. Reuters quoted Altices as saying in a statement that it was pleased with the FCC's conclusion, "which recognizes the benefits that the proposed merger will bring to consumers in the U.S. We continue to make good progress toward a transaction closing in the second quarter of this year." However, the transaction still requires the blessing of regulators from both New York City and the state of New York.