US cable giant Comcast has abandoned plans to acquire rival Time Warner Cable following regulatory opposition to the $45.2 billion mega-merger.
Comcast has terminated its merger agreement with Time Warner Cable, the company confirmed in a press statement.
CEO Brian L. Roberts said the company had structured the deal in such a way that the company could withdraw its offer if the government didn't agree with it.
A merger between Comcast and Time Warner would have created a company with more than half of the US broadband market and a 30% share of the pay TV market.
The exit follows reports that regulator FCC had recommended that the proposed merger be reviewed by an administrative law judge.
This was an indication that the regulator did not agree that the deal was in the public interest, and a sign that the deal was not likely to receive the required regulatory approval.
USA Today noted that public support for the US FCC's revised net neutrality stance may have played a factor in the decision to recommend the review. The FCC had received more than 800,000 submitted comments about the deal, most of them in opposition.