Meanwhile, Fitch said the combined company will serve 24 million customer relationships and become the second largest cable multiple system operator. Revenues were nearly $36 billion in 2014 and EBITDA was nearly $13 billion.
The combination of Charter, Time Warner Cable and Bright House will create a broadband services and technology company serving 23.9 million customers in 41 states.
Tom Rutledge, president and CEO of Charter Communications, said: “With our larger reach, we will be able to accelerate the deployment of faster Internet speeds, better video experiences, and fully–featured voice products, at highly competitive prices.”
Charter is the fourth-biggest U.S. cable company, while TWC is the No. 2.
The American cable market is seeing several M&A actions. AT&T is paying $48.5 billion for satellite-TV provider DirecTV and is waiting for the FCC approval.
The Time Warner Cable deal enables Charter, whose largest shareholder is billionaire John Malone, to almost quadruple its number of cable subscribers, gaining 12 million customers in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, said a Bloomberg report.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler called Time Warner Cable’s Marcus and Charter CEO Tom Rutledge recently to dispel notions that industry mergers won’t be approved by regulators. Wheeler told the CEOs that any transaction would be judged on merit, and there was no flat ban on cable combinations.
Baburajan K
[email protected]
