Liberty Latin America's proposed buy of AT&T's wireline business in Puerto Rico would cut major fiber network operators on the island from three to two, hurting competition, DOJ said in a Clayton Act complaint Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington (docket 20-cv-03064). In a proposed final judgment, Justice said Liberty and AT&T agreed to a consent decree that would see Liberty selling assets including a fiber-based network it has in the San Juan area and other fiber assets across the rest of the island, plus retail fiber-based enterprise customer accounts and the right to pull fiber through Liberty's conduit. It said the agreement would give WorldNet Telecommunications an option to buy segments of AT&T's aerial fiber-based core network. "The divestiture will place WorldNet in the position to become a strong competitor in the provision of fiber-based connectivity and telecommunications services to enterprise customers throughout Puerto Rico," DOJ said. Liberty didn't comment. Its $1.95 billion deal for AT&T's wireline and wireless operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands was announced 12 months ago.

T-Mobile appreciates the proposed decision of the California Public Utilities Commission to partly modify the mid-April order clearing the carrier to buy Sprint, a T-Mobile spokesperson emailed Friday. The carrier is “particularly pleased” it would “correct the three- and six-year benchmark dates for measurement of our speed commitments to 2023 and 2026,” the spokesperson said. Commissioners may vote Nov. 19 on the proposal that would deny the carrier’s other requested changes on job and speed conditions (see 2010160059). T-Mobile declined further comment Monday whether the carrier will continue to challenge those requirements.

“It's too soon to answer this with any degree of accuracy,” emailed Sound United CEO Kevin Duffy Friday in response to our questions on how the distribution of Bowers & Wilkins premium speakers will change after the company’s purchase by Sound United (see 2010090057). It’s also too early to know whether Sound United will use a separate sales force for the high-end speaker line vs. the team that handles the rest of the Sound United portfolio, Duffy said. On whether B&W’s engineering and manufacturing operations will remain in Worthing, England, he said, “At this juncture we have no intention of shifting B&W manufacturing.” Sound United’s Oct. 9 announcement of its purchase of the esteemed loudspeaker brand suggested Sound United was exploring developing new B&W products to "support the brand’s position in the premium acoustic home audio market.” Duffy told us Friday its aim is “to give B&W the tools and support they need to continue the amazing work they do, developing the best loudspeakers in the world.” Sound United will be “working to best position products across each brands' portfolio to maximize value for each unique company.” Other Sound United speaker brands include Boston Acoustics, Definitive Technology and Polk. B&W is the premier global speaker brand for Sound United and price segments "currently unoccupied by other Sound United brands' products.” Sound United, which also owns the Denon, Heos, Marantz and Classe Audio brands, employs 1,600 with the B&W buy; it didn’t answer whether any B&W employees lost jobs after the sale, or from which departments. Geoff Edwards “will ensure continuity” by becoming the president of the Bowers & Wilkins brand within the Sound United portfolio, Duffy said.

Google’s proposed $2.1 billion Fitbit purchase (see 1911010051 or 1911010054) raises “serious competition and privacy concerns" and risks harming people in the wearables, advertising and digital health markets, warned 19 global consumer and citizen groups Thursday. “This takeover must therefore only be approved if merger remedies can effectively prevent those harms.” The groups said they fear Google could shut rival manufacturers out of the wearables market by “degrading their interoperability” with Android devices. The takeover also risks jeopardizing rivals’ access to wearables data in “digital health markets to the detriment of innovation in these critical nascent markets,” they said. It would bolster Google’s “unparalleled market power” in online advertising by giving it “a further data advantage in the personalisation of ads through its ownership of Fitbit’s user database,” they said. Regulators need to get Google to commit to conditional “safeguards,” they said. U.S.-based groups included New America's Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge. Google didn’t comment.

T-Mobile opposed streamlined review of Verizon buying Tracfone (see 2009140010), in an undocketed FCC filing. “Applicants propose a $7 billion transaction under which the largest facilities-based provider of mobile wireless services in the United States would acquire the fourth largest provider of wireless services by subscribership,” T-Mobile said: “While T-Mobile takes no position on the merits of the Application, a transaction of this magnitude warrants careful scrutiny and the opportunity for public comment -- no less than T-Mobile’s recent acquisition of Sprint.” Verizon didn't comment.

Comments are due Oct. 21, replies Oct. 28, on requested transfer of control of licenses for Blue Rooster Telecom, Digital West Networks and Norcast Communications from Digital West to TPG Global's Radiate, per an FCC public notice in Thursday's Daily Digest. The deal would create the No. 6 U.S. cable company (see 2010060001).

Antitrust authorities gave the go-ahead for SiriusXM’s purchase of E.W. Scripps podcasting business Stitcher, according to an FTC early termination notice released Thursday. The $325 million deal was announced in July.

Radiate plans to buy California voice and data services companies Digital West Networks, Norcast Communications and Blue Rooster Telecom, it said in FCC International Bureau applications posted Tuesday asking approval for transfer of those Digital West licensees to Radiate, which is owned by private investment firm TPG Global. It said the deal, adding those companies to Radiate's RCN Telecom, Grande Communications Networks, WaveDivision and En-Touch Systems, will create the No. 6 U.S. cable operator.

EG Group founders Mohsin and Zuber Issa and TDR Capital are buying U.K.-based Asda Group from Walmart for $8.8 billion, the companies said Friday. The Issa brothers own EG Group, which has more than 5,200 gas stations and fast food operations in the U.K. and Europe. Under the new ownership structure, the Issa brothers and TDR Capital are acquiring majority ownership of Asda; Walmart will retain an equity investment, with an ongoing commercial relationship and a seat on the board. Roger Burnley will continue as CEO. Walmart bought Asda in 1999.

Velodyne Lidar began trading on Nasdaq Wednesday under VLDR after closing a reverse transaction with blank check company Graf Industrial Tuesday. (see 2007020036). Shares dropped 24% Wednesday to $18.69. Graf had been trading on the New York Stock Exchange; the decision to list on Nasdaq was made “to be listed alongside the other innovative technology companies,” it said. Velodyne is delivering lidar for markets including smart city with smart intersections, security, mobile 3D mapping, industrial and factory robotics, smart agriculture, sidewalk delivery and drones, it said Wednesday, citing “growing demand” in the emerging markets. The company’s Automated with Velodyne program supports an integrator ecosystem to commercialize next-generation autonomous solutions. A Sept. 22 SEC filing listed as risk factors the pandemic, rapidly evolving markets and Velodyne's transition to an outsourced manufacturing business model. It sees lidar as the “industry standard for autonomous vehicles and other emerging markets, [but] market adoption of lidar is uncertain,” it noted. Management includes CEO Anand Gopalan, Chief Financial Officer Drew Hamer, Chief Technology Officer Matt Rekow and Chief Marketing Officer Marta Hall.