U.S. poised to settle with Time

Deal would resolve AOL sales questions: The New York Times: "The U.S. Justice Department was set to announce Wednesday that it had reached a settlement with Time Warner in an investigation of advertising deals between America Online and smaller Internet companies that may have allowed America Online to exaggerate its growth, an official close to the case said.

Time Warner is also expected to reach a separate agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been looking into accounting irregularities, the official said. The company will pay a total of $510 million to settle all civil and criminal accusations arising from the both the Justice Department and SEC investigations.

Last month, Time Warner set aside $500 million to cover the cost of settling the SEC and Justice Department investigations. News agencies said the portion devoted to settling with the Justice Department would be $210 million.

Time Warner has been pushing to conclude the two investigations before the end of the year, in part to help put the last issues from the widely criticized America Online merger behind it and in part because it wants to join with Comcast to bid for part or all of Adelphia Communications, the bankrupt cable television company.

For two years, the Justice Department and SEC cases have restricted the company's ability to finance deals. Time Warner has disclosed in its SEC filings that it is unable to issue new stock or borrow money through the debt markets while the SEC is questioning the reliability of its audited financial statements. "