Latest news with #CoxCommunications
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Cox agrees to merge with Charter for US$35bil
New York: Charter Communications Inc has agreed to combine with closely held Cox Communications in a cash-and-stock deal that would unite two of the biggest US cable providers. The takeover values Cox at about US$34.5bil including debt, the companies said in a statement last Friday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The deal includes about US$12.6bil of net debt and US$21.9bil in equity, the companies said. The combined company would be the top broadband operator in the United States, and increase Charter's subscriber base by more than 20%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Geetha Ranganathan. It also comes at a time when cable companies are facing increasing competition. Wireless providers, such as AT&T Inc and T-Mobile US Inc, are luring away broadband customers with their own Internet offerings. At the same time, streaming companies such as Netflix Inc have upended the traditional business of pay-TV. The Cox family will be the largest shareholder in the combined company, with a stake of about 23%, and will have seats on the board. Within a year of closing, the combined company will also change its name to Cox Communications. Charter shares have risen about 24% this year, giving the company a market value of roughly US$66bil. Billionaire John Malone – chairman of Liberty Broadband, Charter's largest shareholder – fuelled merger expectations when he said that the company should be allowed to merge with a media or telecom rival to stay competitive. Speaking at Liberty Media's investor day in New York last November, he named Cox among a number of possible merger candidates. Charter and Cox previously discussed a potential deal more than a decade ago. 'This combination will augment our ability to innovate and provide high-quality, competitively priced products, delivered with outstanding customer service, to millions of homes and businesses,' Chris Winfrey, president and chief executive of Charter, said in the statement. Malone's Liberty Broadband will cease its direct shareholding after the deal closes, and its directors will resign from the board. Cable companies like Charter, the largest pay-TV provider, rely on three main lines of business for their revenue: video service, Internet access and wireless phone service. Subscribers to two of those businesses, video and broadband, are shrinking. Cable providers have been selling their own mobile phone plans by leasing network access from major carriers. At the same time, phone carriers have been poaching home Internet subscribers from cable companies. The bet is that customers will in the future prefer to buy their Internet and mobile phone services from the same provider – a trend referred to as convergence. A combination of Charter and Cox would position them to better compete in that environment by allowing them to bundle offerings and more efficiently invest in infrastructure. 'Charter is aggressively marketing its converged mobile fixed bundles at competitive rates to improve subscriber acquisition and retention,' according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts. 'Regardless, the entire cable sector is being hurt by intensifying telecom competition from both fibre coverage and fixed wireless access.' For Cox, which has been viewed as a perennial takeover target, a tie-up with Charter would end more than 70 years of outright ownership by the Cox family. Cox Communications is the main division of Cox Enterprises, a conglomerate founded around the time of the Spanish-American War more than a century ago. The Cox family entered the cable business in the 1960s and has grown Cox Communications into the largest private broadband company in America, offering Internet to almost seven million customers. The company's systems and regional footprint are expected to complement those of Charter, increasing the chances of a deal passing muster with regulators. Even so, the deal could be a litmus test for US antitrust scrutiny under President Donald Trump's new administration. Operating under the Spectrum brand, Charter is the top cable TV company and the second-biggest broadband provider in the United States, according to data from Bloomberg Intelligence. It had more than 12 million video subscribers and about 30 million Internet customers as of the end of March, earnings show. Last year, Charter agreed to buy Liberty Broadband Corp in an all-stock transaction. That deal consolidated two public companies in which cable billionaire Malone held significant interests. Malone remains chairman of Liberty Broadband. — Bloomberg
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Comcast Stock (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Notches Up as Speculation About Charter Merger Remains
The landscape these days in streaming services, and the internet access that underpins them, is still very much a dynamic place with lots of changes, some of which do not even make much sense. But communications giant Comcast (CMCSA) is still front and center, as speculation about a merger between itself and Charter (CHTR) is still in play, despite a recent move from Charter that puts it in a better position to compete with Comcast. Regardless, Comcast gained nicely in Tuesday afternoon's trading, as shares gained nearly 1.5% in the session. Confident Investing Starts Here: More specifically, a lot of people are wondering about a connection between Comcast and the Spectrum brand. This is particularly odd given that Charter only recently set up a deal between itself and Cox Communications, valued at around $34.5 billion. This deal has taken some of the wind out of the sails of those who believe a Comcast / Charter deal is still in the cards. However, just because the Charter / Cox deal exists, reports note, does not mean that there is no future in a Comcast / Charter deal. After all, the linear television market is still a shambles thanks to the growth of streaming services, which means that even regulatory bodies may not look askance at two major operations getting together to fend off a souring overall market. It also does not hurt that the two are already in cooperation with each other with the Xumo streaming platform. A New Baseball Deal Comcast, however, is hardly putting all its eggs in one basket as far as that purely hypothetical deal goes. Reports note that the Texas Rangers baseball team has tapped Comcast to serve as the Managed Channel Origination (MCO) platform for the Rangers Sports Network, a regional sports network controlled by the team. The network in question handles both production and distribution of game broadcasts, reports note, while also handling staffing efforts behind the scenes, among other things. Senior Vice President of Broadcast for the Texas Rangers, Angie Swint, noted 'Their (Comcast's) expertise in managed services and comprehensive broadcast solutions enables us to focus on delivering an unparalleled experience for Rangers fans, while also providing us with more control over our distribution channels and future growth.' Is Comcast Stock a Good Buy Right Now? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CMCSA stock based on nine Buys, nine Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.26% loss in its share price over the past year, the average CMCSA price target of $40.86 per share implies 16.78% upside potential. See more CMCSA analyst ratings Disclosure
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Love Letter, Late Night Ice-Cream: How Charter Finally Wooed Cox
One of the biggest deals of the year so far started around Valentine's Day, with a love letter. Chris Winfrey, the chief executive officer of cable giant Charter Communications Inc., wrote to his counterpart at Cox Communications Inc. with a proposal: If Cox was at all interested in combining the two companies, now was the time to move. The stars, he said, were finally aligned.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Craig Moffett Believes the Charter-Cox Merger is 'Mostly About Wireless'
On May 16, Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) and Cox Communications announced a definitive agreement to merge their businesses to create a leading US cable and broadband operator. Shortly after the announcement, Craig Moffett of Moffett Nathanson joined CNBC's 'The Exchange' to discuss the merger: "I think this deal is mostly about wireless. I think it's not a coincidence that in the press release about the deal this morning, Charter described both itself and Cox as providers of mobile and broadband service. I think it was striking that they put mobile first ahead of even broadband. And I think that speaks to what the real strategic logic here." The transaction values Cox Communications at an enterprise value of $34.5 billion, which includes $21.9 billion in equity and $12.6 billion in net debt and other obligations. Charter will acquire Cox's commercial fiber, managed IT, and cloud businesses. Cox Enterprises will contribute its residential cable business to Charter Holdings, which is an existing subsidiary partnership of Charter. A line of cable boxes and modern televisions, representing the company's video services. Within a year of the deal closing, which is tentatively mid-2026, the newly formed company will rebrand as Cox Communications, with Spectrum becoming the customer-facing brand in former Cox service areas. The combined entity will serve about 12 million passings and 6 million existing Cox customers under Charter's Spectrum brand, and is expected to enhance innovation, provide competitively priced products, and deliver improved customer service. While we acknowledge the potential of CHTR to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CHTR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Craig Moffett Believes the Charter-Cox Merger is 'Mostly About Wireless'
On May 16, Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) and Cox Communications announced a definitive agreement to merge their businesses to create a leading US cable and broadband operator. Shortly after the announcement, Craig Moffett of Moffett Nathanson joined CNBC's 'The Exchange' to discuss the merger: "I think this deal is mostly about wireless. I think it's not a coincidence that in the press release about the deal this morning, Charter described both itself and Cox as providers of mobile and broadband service. I think it was striking that they put mobile first ahead of even broadband. And I think that speaks to what the real strategic logic here." The transaction values Cox Communications at an enterprise value of $34.5 billion, which includes $21.9 billion in equity and $12.6 billion in net debt and other obligations. Charter will acquire Cox's commercial fiber, managed IT, and cloud businesses. Cox Enterprises will contribute its residential cable business to Charter Holdings, which is an existing subsidiary partnership of Charter. A line of cable boxes and modern televisions, representing the company's video services. Within a year of the deal closing, which is tentatively mid-2026, the newly formed company will rebrand as Cox Communications, with Spectrum becoming the customer-facing brand in former Cox service areas. The combined entity will serve about 12 million passings and 6 million existing Cox customers under Charter's Spectrum brand, and is expected to enhance innovation, provide competitively priced products, and deliver improved customer service. While we acknowledge the potential of CHTR to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CHTR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
