Rival US cablecos Charter Communications and Comcast are sharpening their schemes for potential separate bids for giant Time Warner Cable (TWC), according to reports.
Charter has been in talks for a multi-billion debt package with Bank of America,…
Rival US cablecos Charter Communications and Comcast are sharpening their schemes for potential separate bids for giant Time Warner Cable (TWC), according to reports.
Charter has been in talks for a multi-billion debt package with Bank of America, Barclays and Deutsche Bank, people familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Financing for a bid could also come from sovereign wealth funds and wealthy individuals, as well as from Charter’s majority shareholder Liberty Media, according to the report.
Both Charter and TWC declined to comment on the report.
Despite the reported activity behind the scenes, the WSJ however added that a Charter bid may not ultimately happen after all.
Charter, number four in the US, is significantly smaller than TWC, with a market capitalisation of US$13.2bn. TWC, the country’s second-largest cable operator, has a US$33.8bn market cap.
Rumours of a deal first emerged this summer when it was reported that Liberty CEO Greg Maffei held talks with outgoing TWC CEO Glenn Britt regarding a potential merger with Charter.
But at the time, Britt was reportedly not keen, believing a merger with Charter would overload its balance sheet with debt and doubting the potential synergies.
TWC was however reported to be weighing up bids for either Cablevision or Cox Communications.
Meanwhile, Charter has been flexing its financial muscle of late. In July this year it amended its credit arrangements allowing it to take on more debt to fund deals. At about the same time it bought Optimum West forUS$1.6bn from fellow US cableco Cablevision.
Comcast seeking guidance on reg hurdles
Seperately, broadcaster CNBC indicated on Friday that its parent company Comcast is seeking advice on antitrust and telecoms-related issues in case of a bid for TWC.
Quoting unnamed sources, the report added that Comcast has been considering a deal for a while but that it is not in active discussions with TWC.
