Latest news with #GeethaRanganathan
The Star
6 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
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AT&T Buys Lumen's Consumer Fiber Business for $5.75 Billion
(Bloomberg) — AT&T Inc. agreed to buy the consumer fiber operations of Lumen Technologies Inc. for $5.75 billion, expanding its fast broadband service in major cities like Denver and Las Vegas. Can Frank Gehry's 'Grand LA' Make Downtown Feel Like a Neighborhood? Chicago's O'Hare Airport Seeks Up to $4.3 Billion of Muni Debt NJ Transit Makes Deal With Engineers, Ending Three-Day Strike AT&T will pay cash for the unit of Lumen, according to a statement Wednesday. Talks between the companies were reported earlier by Bloomberg News. The sale is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of next year. The deal helps AT&T increase its long-term goal of putting its fiber-optic lines within reach of more homes and businesses. The Dallas-based wireless and broadband company now says it aims to reach 60 million locations by 2030, about double where AT&T Fiber is available today. Lumen had said earlier that the consumer fiber business didn't fit with its focus on serving enterprise customers. Lumen has 1 million fiber customers and reaches more than 4 million locations across 11 US states, AT&T said. As part of the transaction, AT&T will form a new subsidiary that will hold the acquired assets. After closing, AT&T plans to sell partial ownership of the subsidiary to an equity partner that will co-invest in the business. AT&T expects to identify the partner and close a deal within about six to 12 months of completing the transaction with Lumen. AT&T said the structure will help support the expansion of AT&T Fiber outside of the phone giant's traditional landline operations. The company also reiterated its 2025 financial guidance. In 2022, AT&T announced a similar partnership with BlackRock Inc. called Gigapower LLC. Lumen advanced as much as 25% to $4.77 in extended trading. AT&T was little changed. Fiber and telecommunications have become a hotbed of dealmaking. Earlier this month, the US Federal Communications Commission approved the sale of Frontier Communications to Verizon Communications Inc. Frontier had billed itself as the 'largest pure-play fiber internet company in the US.' On May 16, Charter Communications Inc. agreed to combine with closely held Cox Communications in a $34.5 billion cash-and-stock deal that would unite two of the biggest US cable providers. The combined company would be the top broadband operator in the US, and increase Charter's subscriber base by more than 20%, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Geetha Ranganathan said at the time. (Updates terms starting in fifth paragraph.) Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center Anthropic Is Trying to Win the AI Race Without Losing Its Soul Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His Cartoon Network's Last Gasp ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
TV's Pitch to Advertisers Runs Headlong Into Tariffs
Bloomberg Intelligence's Geetha Ranganathan joins BTV to discuss media industry's big pitch to advertisers, and Fox's new streaming service. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
09-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
BI Weekend: Walt Disney, Ford Earnings
Watch Alix and Paul LIVE every day on YouTube: Hosts: Paul Sweeney and Alix Steel On this podcast: - Geetha Ranganathan, Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst on US Media, discusses Walt Disney earnings. - Jennifer Bartashus, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst, Retail Staples & Packaged Food, discusses Tyson Foods earnings. - Brian Egger, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Gaming and Lodging Analyst, discusses Marriott earnings. - Sam Fazeli, Bloomberg Intelligence, Director of Research for Global Industries and Senior Pharmaceuticals Analyst, discusses BioNTech earnings. - Steve Man, Bloomberg Intelligence Global Autos and Industrials Research Analyst, discusses Ford earnings. - Pol Lezcano, BloombergBNEF Senior Associate, discusses U.S clean power. Bloomberg Intelligence, the research arm of Bloomberg L.P., has more than 400 professionals who provide in-depth analysis on more than 2,000 companies and 135 industries while considering strategic, equity and credit perspectives. BI also provides interactive data from over 500 independent contributors. It is available exclusively for Bloomberg Terminal subscribers.
Bloomberg
07-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Disney Shares Surge as Strength in Parks, Streaming Lift Outlook
Walt Disney Co. reported fiscal second-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates and raised its outlook for the full year, citing strong performances from theme parks and streaming TV. The company's experiences division, including resorts and cruises, saw increased visitors and guest spending at parks in California and Florida, while its streaming efforts added new subscribers despite price increases. Bloomberg's Geetha Ranganathan reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
