News
U.S. cable operator wins final regulatory approvals for mega-merger.
Charter Communications’ multi-billion-dollar acquisitions of Time Warner Cable(TWC) and Bright House Networks could close on Wednesday, having received final regulatory approvals last week.
The deal, which will create the second largest cable operator in the U.S., got the green light from the California Public Utilities Commission, Charter announced late last week. Subject to the remaining customary closing conditions, the Charter-TWC transactions and Charter’s acquisition of Bright House Networks are currently expected to close on or about May 18, 2016.
In order to secure support for the deal, Charter agreed a number of pro-competition conditions with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) in April and earlier this month indicated it had received FCC approval for the transaction, leaving just the California PUC vote outstanding.
"We are pleased to have now obtained all approvals," said Charter CEO Tom Rutledge, in a statement last week. "We look forward to closing these transactions next week and to begin delivering the many benefits of these transactions to consumers."
Charter agreed to pay around $56.7 billion in cash and stock for TWC a year ago, having already brokered a $10.4 billion deal for Bright House.
The additional scale will enable the combined company to compete more effectively with major cableco Comcast as well as with the likes of AT&T and satellite operator Dish Network.
