Charter is reported to have offered $132.50 a share, consisting of $83 in cash and $49.50 in stock, which was described by the US cableco as “grossly inadequate”.
Time Warner Cable has previously rebuffed two bids from Charter – an offer of cash and stock nominally valued at approximately $114 last June and another of approximately $127 last October.
“Charter’s latest proposal is a non-starter,” said Rob Marcus, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable. “Not only is the nominal valuation far too low, but because a significant portion of the purchase price would be in Charter stock, the actual value delivered to TWC shareholders could be substantially lower, given the valuation, operational, and significant balance sheet risks embedded in Charter’s stock.”
If a deal between the two was ever agreed, the combined firm would have more than 15 million customers in the US.
Time Warner Cable has been the subject of widespread speculation for some months, with Comcast also heavily linked to the company. Last November, it was reported that representatives at Time Warner Cable approached Comcast to rival Charter’s interest.
There were also rumours that Comcast and Charter could make a joint bid, which would see a break-up of Time Warner Cable’s assets.
For a deeper insight into the consolidation of the US cable TV market look out for the cover story in the December/January edition of Capacity magazine.
