Charter Makes $61 Billion Offer for Time Warner Cable

One of the hottest rumors of late 2013 became reality today when Charter Communications made a bid to buy Time Warner Cable its larger rival by more than double its size for $61 billion, or about $132.50 per share.

Craig Galbraith, Editorial Director

January 13, 2014

1 Min Read
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**Editor’s Note: Please click

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for a recap of the biggest channel-impacting mergers in Q4 2013.**

One of the hottest rumors of late 2013 became reality today when Charter Communications made a bid to buy Time Warner Cable its larger rival by more than double its size for $61 billion, or about $132.50 per share. That includes the purchase of debt.

Charter made the offer in a letter to TWC execs today that spells out why a tie-up between the two companies would be good for Time Warner’s shareholders. Charter, which has about 7 million subscribers and is the fourth-largest cableco in the U.S., made a less attractive offer for TWC in December, a bid that was rejected, a Charter exec told Bloomberg. It’s a combination that could have significant implications for the channel.

Time Warner Cable has been rumored to be on the auction block for a while now, but might be holding out for a bid from Comcast, the No. 1 cable operator in the U.S. Sources have said that the company would prefer to merge with Comcast if the conditions were right. Cox has been mentioned as a possible suitor as well.

No major reaction just yet on Wall Street, where the news landed after the closing bell. While it’s been a lousy day for the market as a whole, Charter’s stock was down 1.6 percent today, while Time Warner Cable’s stock was off less than 1 percent.

Follow senior online managing editor @Craig_Galbraith on Twitter.

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About the Author

Craig Galbraith

Editorial Director, Channel Futures

Craig Galbraith is the editorial director for Channel Futures, joining the team in 2008. Before that, he spent more than 11 years as an anchor, reporter and managing editor in television newsrooms in North Dakota and Washington state. Craig is a proud Husky, having graduated from the University of Washington. He makes his home in the Phoenix area.

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