Charter Communications announced Friday it will acquire Cox Communications in a $21.9 billion cash-and-stock deal, combining two major U.S. cable and broadband players. The deal positions Charter to better compete against streaming platforms and wireless internet providers by expanding its bundled service offerings.
As traditional cable TV continues to lose ground to platforms like Netflix, media companies are rethinking their business strategies. Charter aims to leverage the merger to deliver integrated broadband, TV, and mobile services—a move that recently helped it surpass revenue expectations.
“This combination will strengthen our capacity to innovate and deliver high-quality, competitively priced offerings,” said Charter CEO Chris Winfrey, who will lead the merged company.
Under the terms of the agreement, Charter will also assume approximately $12.6 billion in Cox’s debt and liabilities, bringing the deal’s total enterprise value to around $34.5 billion. Cox Enterprises, Cox Communications’ parent company, will retain a 23% stake in the combined entity. Its CEO, Alex Taylor, will serve as chairman.
Following the close—expected to align with Charter’s pending Liberty Broadband acquisition—the merged firm will adopt the Cox Communications name corporately, while Spectrum will remain the consumer-facing brand in Cox’s markets. Liberty Broadband shareholders will gain a direct stake in Charter through the deal.
Cox, the largest division of family-owned Cox Enterprises, was founded in 1898 and maintains interests in cable, media, and automotive sectors, including a stake in Axios. Charter and Cox previously explored a merger in 2013, but talks had stalled until renewed interest surfaced after Charter’s recent moves to consolidate.
Charter’s stock rose 9% in premarket trading following the announcement.
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News Source: Finance.yahoo.com
