Strengthened state merger laws reportedly being considered by...

Strengthened state merger laws reportedly being considered by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat (http://tinyurl.com/nmlzyx7), wouldn’t be a “meaningful new hurdle” for Comcast’s plan to buy Time Warner Cable, wrote analyst Paul Gallant of Guggenheim Partners in a research note Wednesday. The New York State Public Service Commission would have more authority to block the deal, and the development may be worth monitoring “simply because New York has historically been effective at regulating various sectors when it views federal authorities as insufficiently protective of consumers,” Gallant wrote. A new burden of proof that the transaction would be in the interest of state residents would be higher than present law, but would be the same burden of proof to win FCC approval, Gallant wrote. “The FCC is likely to approve the merger with conditions because (in our view) there is no clear competitive harm from this merger. This is just as true in New York -- consumers post-merger will have the same number of pay TV and broadband choices.” Any new law may force bigger concessions from the companies “but would not increase the chance of outright deal rejection by the NY” PSC, he wrote. Gallant also said Comcast’s NBCUniversal is a major unionized employer in the state, “which we expect will be a very helpful political consideration as New York regulators evaluate the Comcast-TWC merger.” Cuomo’s office on Thursday told us state law now puts the burden of proof on companies to show a gas or electric transaction would be in the public interest. For cable deals, the burden is on the PSC to show it would cause harm. The proposed change would shift the burden to cable companies as well. “This measure brings the PSC’s authority over cable mergers in line with its existing powers to regulate gas and electric company mergers. By doing so, we're modernizing New York’s laws to reflect the realities of New York’s marketplace,” an administration official said in a statement. Cuomo, in a recording of a news briefing released by his office, denied the proposed change was spurred by the proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable.