FTC/DOJ Have No Issues With Gannett/London Station Deal

Neither the Justice Department nor the Federal Trade Commission have any antitrust issues with Gannett's purchase of six London Broadcasting stations for $215 million.

Since the Federal Communications Commission and FTC/Justice usually coordinate their reviews, the FCC is likely not to have any issues either, though it looks beyond antitrust to public interest benefits.

The Gannett/London Broadcasting deal was on a list of mergers that were granted early termination of Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust reviews, which are divvied up between the FTC and DOJ. They don't say who vets which, but DOJ usually handles TV station deals. Early termination means FTC/DOJ find no reason to block or condition the deal.