Zoneboy
02-13-2014, 12:04 AM
In a surprise twist in the hunt for Time Warner Cable, Comcast Corp. is closing in on a deal to buy its closest cable rival in an all-stock deal valued at $44.2 billion, or about $159 a share.
CNBC first reported news of the agreement late Wednesday. A source close to the situation confirmed that the sides are set to announce the surprise deal on Thursday morning.
Comcast’s move is a stealth play given that it had also been discussing the possibility of teaming with Charter Communications to buy portions of TW Cable systems.
Charter, controlled by John Malone’s Liberty Media, has lead the charge to turn Time Warner Cable into a takeover target during the past few months. Charter’s most recent offer for TW Cable was at $132.50 a share, while TW Cable execs rebuffed that price as “grossly inadequate” and let it be known that they were seeking at least $160 a share.
TW Cable shares have been on the rise amid the jockeying with Charter and speculation about other suitors. The stock closed up 41 cents on Wednesday to $135.31.
On Tuesday, Charter pressed its proxy fight by proposing a slate of 13 independent directors for TW Cable and asserting that the cabler’s shareholders had indicated “overwhelming desire” to see a deal done with Charter.
As late as Tuesday, there was widespread speculation that Comcast would cut a deal with Charter to buy out TW Cable’s lucrative New York City-area cable systems if Charter was successful in its pursuit.
Reps for Comcast, TW Cable and Charter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Deal between Comcast, which has about 23 million subscribers, and TW Cable, which has about 14 million, is sure to raise regulatory scrutiny. CNBC, a unit of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, reported that Comcast was prepared to divest as many as 3.3 million subscribers in order for the deal to pass muster at the FCC.
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/report-comcast-to-buy-all-of-time-warner-cable-1201100899/
CNBC first reported news of the agreement late Wednesday. A source close to the situation confirmed that the sides are set to announce the surprise deal on Thursday morning.
Comcast’s move is a stealth play given that it had also been discussing the possibility of teaming with Charter Communications to buy portions of TW Cable systems.
Charter, controlled by John Malone’s Liberty Media, has lead the charge to turn Time Warner Cable into a takeover target during the past few months. Charter’s most recent offer for TW Cable was at $132.50 a share, while TW Cable execs rebuffed that price as “grossly inadequate” and let it be known that they were seeking at least $160 a share.
TW Cable shares have been on the rise amid the jockeying with Charter and speculation about other suitors. The stock closed up 41 cents on Wednesday to $135.31.
On Tuesday, Charter pressed its proxy fight by proposing a slate of 13 independent directors for TW Cable and asserting that the cabler’s shareholders had indicated “overwhelming desire” to see a deal done with Charter.
As late as Tuesday, there was widespread speculation that Comcast would cut a deal with Charter to buy out TW Cable’s lucrative New York City-area cable systems if Charter was successful in its pursuit.
Reps for Comcast, TW Cable and Charter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Deal between Comcast, which has about 23 million subscribers, and TW Cable, which has about 14 million, is sure to raise regulatory scrutiny. CNBC, a unit of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, reported that Comcast was prepared to divest as many as 3.3 million subscribers in order for the deal to pass muster at the FCC.
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/report-comcast-to-buy-all-of-time-warner-cable-1201100899/