78TH CONG., 1ST SESS.-CH. 10 -MAR . 6 , 1943 domestic telegraph carrier, as a part of any such consolidation or merger or thereafter, to acquire all or any part of the domestic telegraph properties, domestic telegraph facilities, or domestic tele- graph operations of any carrier which is not primarily a telegraph carrier: Provided, That, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, no domestic telegraph carrier shall effect a consolidation or merger with any international telegraph carrier, and no interna- tional telegraph carrier shall effect a consolidation or merger with any domestic telegraph carrier. "(2) As a part of any such consolidation or merger, or thereafter upon application to and approval by the Commission as hereinafter provided, the consolidated or merged carrier may acquire all or any part of the domestic telegraph properties, domestic telegraph facili- ties, or domestic telegraph operations of any international telegraph carrier. "(c) (1) Whenever any consolidation or merger is proposed under subsection (b) of this section, the telegraph carrier or telegraph carriers seeking authority therefor shall submit an application to the Commission, and thereupon the Commission shall order a public hear- ing to be held with respect to such application and shall give reasonable notice thereof, in writing, and an opportunity to be heard, to the Governor of each of the States in which any of the physical property involved in such proposed consolidation or merger is situated, to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, the Attorney General of the United States, the Secretary of the Navy, representatives of employees where represented by bargaining representatives known to the Commission, and to such other persons as the Commission may deem advisable. If, after such public hearing, the Commission finds that the proposed consolidation or merger, or an amended proposal for consolidation or merger, (1) is authorized by subsection (a) of this section, (2) conforms to all other applicable provisions of this section, (3) is in the public interest, the Commission shall enter an order approving and authorizing such consolidation or merger, and thereupon any law or laws making consolidations and mergers un- lawful shall not apply to the proposed consolidation or merger. In finding whether any proposed consolidation or merger is in the public interest, the Commission shall give due consideration, among other things, to the financial soundness of the carrier resulting from such consolidation or merger. "(2) Any proposed consolidation or merger of domestic telegraph carriers shall provide for the divestment of the international telegraph operations theretofore carried on by any party to the consolidation or merger, within a reasonable time to be fixed by the Commission, after the consideration for the property to be divested is found by the Com- mission to be commensurate with its value, and as soon as the legal obligations, if any, of the carrier to be so divested will permit. The Commission shall require at the time of the approval of such consoli- dation or merger that any such party exercise due diligence in bring- ing about such divestment as promptly as it reasonably can. "(d) No proposed consolidation or merger of telegraph carriers pursuant to this section shall be approved by the Commission if, as a result of such consolidation or merger, more than one-fifth of the capital stock of any carrier which is subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission will be owned or controlled, or voted, directly or indi- rectly, (1) by any alien or the representative of any alien, (2) by any foreign government or the representative thereof, (3) by any cor- poration organized under the laws of any foreign government, or (4) by any corporation of which any officer or director is an alien, or of which more than one-fifth of the capital stock is owned or con- Acquisition of do- mestic properties of international carriers. Application for con- solidation or merger. Public hearing. Orderof approval. Consideration of t- nanclal soundness. I)lvestment of In ltr- national operations. Stock ownership by alien or by foreign government. 57 STAT.] 7
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