The FCC approved the merger of Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable Inc. and acquisition of Bright House Networks.
Charter said it agreed to a number of conditions as part of the FCC approval. Many of the conditions either codified or reflected specific commitments Charter offered proactively at the beginning of the transaction review process, including no data caps or usage-based billing, a commitment to build out high-speed broadband service to unserved and underserved customers, the fastest low-income broadband program of any major service provider, and settlement-free peering.
The California Public Utilities Commission vote is scheduled for May 12th, following last month’s recommendation for approval from the California Administrative Law Judge.
“I want to thank Chairman Wheeler and Commissioners Clyburn, Rosenworcel, Pai and O’Rielly for their thorough review of these transactions,” said Tom Rutledge, President and CEO of Charter Communications. “The significant benefits of these transactions are clear; greater competition, more consumer and OTT friendly broadband policies, broader access to affordable broadband, and added U.S. jobs. The conditions are largely extensions of the longstanding consumer friendly values and practices of our company, and based on the commitments we put forward during the review process. Charter will be a stronger competitor in the broadband and video markets, well positioned to deliver these benefits and more to consumers.”
Charter to Acquire Time Warner Cable, Bright House
Charter Communications agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $78.7 billion. In addition, Charter and Advance/Newhouse Partnership amended an earlier merger deal (announced March 31) to allow for the three-way combination reate a leading broadband services and technology company serving 23.9 million customers in 41 states. Liberty Broadband has agreed to purchase, upon closing of the Time Warner Cable transaction, $4.3 billion of newly issued shares of New Charter.
The companies said their mega-merger will drive investment in their advanced broadband network, allowing for wider deployment of new competitive facilities based Wi-Fi networks in public places, and the footprint expansion of optical networks to serve the large marketplace of small and medium sized businesses.
