Charter to acquire Bright House for US$10 billion

US cable operator Charter Communications is to acquire fellow cable providers Bright House Networks for US$10.4 billion (€9.7 billion).

Bright House is the sixth largest cable operator in the United States, and serves approximately 2 million video customers in central Floridaincluding Orlando and Tampa Bay, as well as Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, and California.

Under the new proposed structure, Bright House owner Advance/Newhouse is expected to own 26.3% of New Charter’s outstanding common shares, and it is expected that Charter shareholder Liberty Broadband’s equity ownership will represent 19.4% of New Charter’s outstanding common shares.

Tom Rutledge, President and CEO of Charter Communications said, “Bright House Networks provides Charter with important operating, financial and tax benefits, as well as strategic flexibility. Bright House has built outstanding cable systems in attractive markets that are either complete, or contiguous with the New Charter footprint. This acquisition enhances our scale, and solidifies New Charter as the second largest cable operator in the US. I look forward to working with the Bright House team, whom we have known for years, in delivering great products and services to grow our market share.”

Steven Miron, Chief Executive Officer of Bright House Networks said, “We are excited about our transaction with Charter. At Bright House Networks, we are very proud of what we have achieved – from the quality of our infrastructure to the level of service our employees provide to customers every day. We share the same vision for the future of our business as Tom and the Charter leadership team, which is to gain market share by offering customers competitive products and excellent service at a tremendous value. Also, our family has known and worked with Tom Rutledge for more than 20 years. Tom managed cable systems that were part of our partnership with Time Warner Cable prior to the formation of Bright House Networks. We think the combination with Charter gives our employees, our customers and Advance/Newhouse the strongest prospects for the future.”