Time Warner Cable stockholders woke up with a little more bank in their accounts Tuesday morning and some cable customers woke up with a little less competition.
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According to USA Today, Charter Communications–a small cable operator that’s been around since about 1993–has agreed to purchase the second-largest company in the industry for $55.33 billion.
The move is part of a larger $79 billion deal that also includes Charter’s acquisition of Bright House Networks for about $10.4 billion, according to the paper.
In the Time Warner cash-and-s
tock deal, Charter will pay $195.71 per share, with $100 of it being in cash with the rest in Charter shares, the report says, or Charter will also offer Time Warner Cable shareholders the option to receive $115 in cash and shares of the new company.The new name of the company is reported to be New Charter and the company will hold Time Warner Cable’s slot as the No. 2 cable provider behind Comcast, who failed earlier this year to merge with TWC and faced a lawsuit from Byron Allen. Experts do not predict the Charter-Time Warner-Bright House deal to face opposition. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Time Warner currently operates in 29 states.
The New York Times reports that the announcement comes as more cable and broadband companies continue to merge to remain competitive in the space, noting AT&T’s agreement to buy DirectTV last year and the European provider Altice buying a controlling stake in regional cable provider Suddenlink. Cable companies are facing a slew of competitors in the form of streaming TV services, and also those viewers and others cutting the cord on cable service.