Soros Fund Management acquired 1.45 million shares in Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) in Q2 2015, according to a quarterly report filed by the George Soros-led investment firm.
The investment date fell during the same period in which TWC agreed to sell to…
Soros Fund Management acquired 1.45 million shares in Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) in Q2 2015, according to a quarterly report filed by the George Soros-led investment firm.
The investment date fell during the same period in which TWC agreed to sell to Charter Communications, the acquisitive cable upstart controlled by John Malone.
Takeover talk sent TWC’s share price up more than 16% between 1 May and 26 May, when the transaction was announced.
Based on TWC’s opening share price on 18 August of US$189.32, Soros’s stake is worth US$274m, although the fund’s holdings may well have changed since the end of June.
Charter agreed to pay US$195.71 for each TWC share, paying in cash and stock.
The offer gave TWC an enterprise value of US$78.7bn, implying a transaction multiple of 8.5x before synergies, according to New Street Research analyst Jonathan Chaplin.
Charter is now waiting to find out whether it can succeed where Comcast failed, winning regulatory approval for a takeover of TWC. Comcast, by far and away the largest US cableco, walked away from its attempt to buy TWC in April after the FCC and DOJ informed the company of their serious concerns about a tie-up.
