Altice Wants Charter Too?

August 11th, 2017 by · 8 Comments

One has to wonder what perfume Charter is wearing these days. Verizon is said to have kicked the tires and had a bid rejected. Softbank has been looking to combine the cable operator with Sprint somehow, though they don’t seem to have gotten very far yet either. And now it’s Altice that has apparently been drawn to Charter’s charms.

Altice’s USA division was of course built out of the acquisitions of Cablevision and SuddenLink. But Charter’s girth would take the Altice’s footprint here to an entirely new level. And it would take some serious financing magic as well. Charter’s marketcap of $120B is more than five times the size of Altice USA and is twice the size of the full Altice empire. Reports put a price tag of $185B or more on such a deal. That’s so steep a hill that many people doubt that Drahi is really serious about making such a bid.

And so the dance of the billionaires continues. Altice’s billionaire protagonist Patrick Drahi has made no secret of his interest in further expansion via M&A. Softbank’s Masayoshi Son has been making it quite clear that he’s seeking a deal. And calmly waiting for his price or some other opportunity is Liberty’s Chairman John Malone, currently 20.5% owner of Charter.

And by some other opportunity, I’m starting to think that maybe it’s time to think of Charter as a buyer here. With its own aggressive purchases of TW Cable and Bright House apparently working out well and their stock price continuing to show strength, perhaps Charter has the firepower to make a move of its own…

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Categories: Cable · Mergers and Acquisitions · Wireless

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8 Comments So Far


  • mhammett says:

    Here’s another possibility. Someone could throw a bid towards Charter because it’s the fashionable thing to do, but they’re really fishing for someone else and what better way to announce you’re looking to acquire a US cable company than throwing your hat into a very public ring.

    Maybe one of these buyers really wants Cox or Mediacom or WOW or…

    • Anonymous says:

      Cox’s name keeps popping up on the lists, could be credible because of operational focus right now too, but is there any real evidence of them being on the block…..

  • Whatever perfume will not cover the smell of how bad their operations are right now. They can accept an order but not deliver it. They struggle to even quote.

  • Tim Dawson says:

    Altice will only get a headline out of this…Charter too big for them, too much debt for them (over $63B). Charter’s stats really need to firm up…they are kind of a mess right now. IMO CableCo’s need a wireless play to survive. Check out their numbers – https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CHTR/key-statistics?p=CHTR

  • Don Coax says:

    Maybe Altice makes a run at RCN and Charter buys COX. Look at the footprints and where Altice is relocating HQ.

  • Anonymous says:

    Once again, the only story that garners attention is what pile of doodoo is buying what pile of doodoo. A very sorry state of affairs for telecom.

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