A federal appeals court upheld AT&T’s merger with Time Warner, rejecting a Justice Department effort to reverse a lower court decision that cleared the way for the transaction.

In a 3-0 decision, the appellate judges found the government’s claim, that the lower court “misunderstood and misapplied” economic principles, “unconvincing.”

The government is not planning a further appeal.

According to a source familiar with the events, Makan Delrahim, the chief of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, called AT&T’s general counsel David McAtee shortly after the decision was issued to congratulate him on the court victory and to inform him that the government would not take the case any further. Delrahim also congratulated Paul Cappuccio, who had been general counsel of Time Warner.

More at Variety.