AT&T, U.S. Bracing for Time Warner Decision as Soon as Tuesday

AT&T Inc. could learn as soon as Tuesday whether it can finally move forward with its acquisition of Time Warner and put behind it a lengthy legal battle with U.S. antitrust enforcers over the $85 billion deal.

The company and the Justice Department are awaiting a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington about the government’s effort to reverse a lower-court decision allowing the merger. Oral arguments were held in December.

Under an agreement with the Justice Department, AT&T promised to put Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting in a business unit separate from AT&T’s DirecTV business. It also agreed ...