Summary: Charter is merging with Time Warner Cable.
Well, Time Warner Cable Inc wanted to sell itself to somebody. As number two in the U.S. market, it would have made sense for them to merge with number one, Comcast, but there was too much grief about this raising anti-trust issues. After all, the combined Comcast-Time Warner duo would dominate 40 percent of the U.S. high-speed Internet market.
Instead, Time Warner has agreed to sell itself to number three, Charter, and this at a price of $55 billion.
The new combined entity, assuming, as many do, that it raises no qualms regarding antitrust laws, will control over 20 percent of the broadband market.
Not only that, eager beaver Charter plans to acquire Bright House Networks as well. Bright House was on board with such a merger on the supposition that Time Warner Cable would be in the mix, and when Time Warner backed out during the last proposal, maybe a year ago, Bright House also balked. Now they agree, and the total coverage between the three companies will bring Charter 23 million customers, comparable to Comcast’s 27.2 million.
The CEO of this new conglomerate will be Charter’s Tom Rutledge.
In all the niceties of courting, Charter has bested their rival, France’s Altice, which also hoped to win Time Warner, and who is instead settling as a second best in other U.S. possibilities, including, as they already are, a union with Suddenlink Communications for $9.1 billion.
News Source: Huffington Post