FTC OKs Charter $1.625M Purchase of Optimum West

Finds no potential competition issues with meld

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/18/2013 4:20:29 PM

The Federal Trade Commission has said it is OK with Charter's purchase of Optimum West (the former Bresnan Communications systems) for $1.625 million.

That came in an early termination notice on Monday. That means that the FTC found no antitrust issues with the deal and has closed its Hart-Scott-Rodino investigation early.

The move clears the way for the planned third-quarter close of the deal.

An FTC (or DOJ) review for potential competition issues, and the requirement that companies alert the government to the deal, is triggered by deals valued at $70.9 million or more.

In other FTC news, the agency Monday also cleared the $70 million additional investment by Oak Investment Partners in MobiTV, the mobile entertainment platform.