The news: Charter Communications Inc. will merge with rival Cox Communications, bringing together two major cable providers, the companies announced Friday.

• The transaction, which “will create an industry leader in mobile and broadband communications services, seamless video entertainment, and high-quality customer service,” values Cox Communications at about $34.5 billion.
• The Cox family is set to become the largest shareholder in the combined company, retaining approximately a 23% stake and securing board representation, according to the release. The merged entity will also take on Cox’s estimated $12 billion in outstanding debt.
• The merger, which comes amid increased competition between cable companies and wireless providers, would create the biggest players in the US television and internet market.

Seeking approval: The companies are looking to receive approval for the deal from the Trump administration—which could reveal challenges caused by current US antitrust concerns.

• To combat any difficulties in sealing the deal, Charter and Cox are positioning the merger as “[putting] America first by returning jobs from overseas and creating new, good-paying customer service and sales careers.” The merged company will “adopt Charter’s sales and service workforce model, which will fully return Cox’s customer service function to the US.”
• The release also looked to appease the administration’s ongoing criticism of the press, highlighting that the deal will bring “hyper-local, unbiased news coverage to more communities.”