A) According to the article: "Time Warner Cable will merge with Comcast Corporation to create a world-class media and technology company", Time Warner Cable and Comcast have reached an agreement amicable agreement in which the board of directors approved the stock-for-stock transaction in which Comcast will acquire 100% of the outstanding Time Warner cable shares. This acquisition will be beneficial to both Comcast consumers and their shareholders, as this merger will create a technologically innovative company with innovative products and services. This acquisition will increase Comcast's free cash flow and produce many synergies for both companies. As Robert D. Marcus, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable, said, “This combination creates a company that delivers maximum value to our shareholders, tremendous opportunity to our employees and a superior experience to our customers.” Through this merger, many consumers and businesses will benefit from the new company with cutting-edge products that will expand the technology platform in media. Not only will this merger reduce competition, but it will also add 11 million TWC subscribers to Comcast, which will total approximately 30 million subscribers and expand Comcast's geographic footprint in the media platform. B) The critical issue is that Comcast, the nation's largest cable and Internet service provider, is trying to become even larger by merging with Time Warner Cable, the market's second largest company. This merger will increase the influence Comcast has over TV channels and Internet content providers, leaving consumers with fewer alternatives, and will reduce competition to the point where Comcast will control two-thirds of the cable TV market and approximately 40% of... .middle of the paper......TWC functionality. If this deal goes through, the acquiring company, Comcast, would expand in size and value dramatically, bringing its combined audience to 30 million households, while TWC would cease to exist as a separate company and, ultimately, all TWC's accounting balances would be adjusted and consolidated. in Comcast's financial records while TWC's records will be closed. Bottom line: The likely scenario is that shareholders will approve the merger in late 2014, but could be rejected by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), considering the size of the market share they are getting out of the deal. However, many sources suggest that lawmakers are already skeptical that the deal is good for markets, and with Comcast's growing influence in Washington and an army of lobbyists already on the move, the outcome remains to be seen..