According to a Reuters report this morning, the rumors that Charter would buy Bright House Networks won’t be rumors much longer. The deal has apparently been done, and may be announced later today. [Edit: It’s official now.]
The supposed $10B deal [EDIT: actually $10.4B] would make Bright House’s owner, Advance Newhouse, Charter’s biggest shareholder – taking a big seat at the table with John Malone’s Liberty Media. Bright House’s 2.5M cable subscribers will add a strong Florida wing to Charter’s mostly Midwestern geographical coverage.
Charter (plus Comcast divestitures) |
Bright House Networks |
The deal is said to be contingent on Comcast’s acquisition of TW Cable being approved. That might seem like an odd contingency to depend on, given the ongoing uncertainty there. But if the Comcast purchase does go through, then Charter’s followon purchase of assets from the combined Comcast/TW Cable entity would as well. And Charter made its own bid for TW Cable a year ago and if Comcast’s fails to get regulatory approval then they probably would want to do so again.
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Categories: Cable · Mergers and Acquisitions
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Great scoop!