Cable operators Charter Communications and Comcast have selected Michael Willner as president and CEO of their prospective new cableco known as ‘SpinCo’, which they will both contribute subscribers to and own.
Willner was the co-founder and CEO of…
Cable operators Charter Communications and Comcast have selected Michael Willner as president and CEO of their prospective new cableco known as ‘SpinCo’, which they will both contribute subscribers to and own.
Willner was the co-founder and CEO of Insight Communications, a regional cableco which was bought up by Time Warner Cable (TWC) in 2011 for US$3bn, and has 40 years of experience in the industry. He has twice served as chairman of the NCTA, the trade body that represents US cable operators.
Willner currently serves as president and CEO of privately-held Penthera Partners, a software company focused on cloud-to-mobile technology. He will remain on Penthera’s board when he joins SpinCo.
SpinCo will be spun-off from Comcast following the completion of its merger with TWC and its divestiture of subscribers to Charter, providing regulators approve the transactions.
In total the merged Comcast/TWC will shed 3.9 million video customers leaving it with less than 30 million subscribers and less than 30% of the multichannel video programming distributor market.
Under the plan Charter will acquire 1.4 million TWC customers for an undisclosed cash sum once the merger with Comcast has closed, taking Charter’s subscriber base to 5.7 million and making it America’s second-largest cableco.
Comcast plans to divest a further 2.5 million subscribers by transferring them to a new independent and publicly-traded company, dubbed SpinCo. It will be 67%-owned by Comcast and TWC shareholders. The remaining 33% will be held by New Charter – a new holding company that will own 100% of Charter and hold its stake in SpinCo. New Charter will acquire its 33% by issuing new shares to Comcast and TWC shareholders.
In a statement Tom Rutledge, president and CEO of Charter, commented: “Michael’s expertise, strategic vision, and knowledge from his years at Insight will be invaluable to the customers, employees and shareholders of SpinCo. Having him on board now – and leading the new business post-transaction – will be extremely advantageous.”
Charter will have a services agreement with SpinCo, which will help both companies achieve greater scale and regional efficiencies.
SpinCo will operate cable systems in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
