Charter eyes Time Warner after Comcast deal collapses

Advisers for Charter Communications have already reached out to Time Warner Cable to begin friendly talks on an acquisition after Comcast withdrew its bid for the company, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Charter’s goal is to buy Time Warner Cable quickly, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private. Charter has approached banks about financing, one person said. Executives at the companies haven’t spoken yet, the people said. Talks are at an early stage and haven’t yet addressed price or structure, and may not result in a deal, the people said.

Time Warner Cable has already expressed concern that a combined company may be too indebted, one person said. Charter’s planned acquisition of Bright House Networks LLC for $10.4 billion may help mitigate those concerns, this person said, because it will give Charter more borrowing capacity.

Time Warner Cable jumped 4.4 percent to $155.26 Friday. giving the company a market value of about $42.7 billion. Charter rose 2.2 percent to $185.75.

Charter and Liberty have publicly stated their desire to acquire Time Warner Cable if Comcast’s deal fell through. Comcast Friday withdrew its $45.2 billion offer – valued at about $158.82 a share – after regulatory pushback. Charter attempted to buy Time Warner Cable for $132.50 a share last January in a hostile bid.

Charter would like to get a friendly deal completed, according to one of the people. It would probably have to pay more than Comcast’s per-share offer to appease Time Warner Cable, the person said.

A spokesman for Charter declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Time Warner Cable.

After U.S. Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission objections, Comcast officially announced its decision to abandon its Time Warner bid Friday. The company also said it terminated its pact with Charter, which had agreed to take control of 3.9 million Comcast cable-TV subscribers as part of the Time Warner deal.

Time Warner Cable is the dominant cable provide in the Charlotte region, and the company’s name adorns the city’s uptown arena. It also has a major Charlotte administrative office and about 3,140 employees in the local market.

The company recently announced it would roll out faster Internet speeds and improved television services in the Charlotte region this summer, amid plans by rivals Google Fiber and AT&T to also deploy faster speeds.

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Charter eyes Time Warner after Comcast deal collapses."