81.   Blumenthal, who has opposed the merger all along, acknowledged Wednesday that the agreement appeared doomed.

82.   But Hewlett and Packard family interests have opposed the merger.

83.   But Hewlett and Packard family interests opposed the merger.

84.   Disney has opposed the merger of its rival media giant.

85.   Jackson had opposed the merger of Ameritech and SBC Communications until Ameritech agreed to sell part of its cellular business to Davenport as a minority owner.

86.   The FTC had opposed the merger because of concern that the combination, without such a divestitures, would be able to dominate the West Coast oil market.

87.   Two other commissioners, Gloria Tristani and Susan Ness, also have voted on the matter but aides would not say whether they supported or opposed the merger.

88.   In Germany however, the governments of the various federal states had always opposed industrial mergers because of the job losses and factory closures they inevitably entailed.

89.   The European Commission earlier had decided it would not oppose the merger.