Charter Offers To Acquire Time Warner Cable For About $61.3 Bln.

(RTTNews) - Cable operator Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) on Monday offered to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) in a cash and stock deal valued about $61.3 billion, including debt, Bloomberg reported.

As per the report, Charter has offered a price of $132.50 per share including a cash component of about $83 per share and about $49.50 in Charter stock.

For Charter CEO Tom Rutledge, a deal would help create a vibrant provider of TV, Internet and phone services for about 20 million US customers spread across 38 states.

The offer is a continuation of efforts in December, when Charter CEO Tom Rutledge made a bid for Time Warner Cable, seeking to work out the finer aspects of a deal. But that did not impress Time Warner Cable's Rob Marcus who wanted a higher cash component. Rutledge finally offered a price in the low $130s.

If the deal comes to fruition, Time Warner Cable shareholders would own about 45 percent of the new company, Rutledge said, adding that the company will have more leverage with price-increasing content companies.

Charter expects to utilize all options going forward, including nominating a slate of directors to Time Warner Cable's board. But Rutledge has made known his desire to consummate a deal on friendly terms.

The offer also brings into picture Liberty Media Corp. (LMCA), which is Charter's largest shareholder. Liberty recently offered to acquire the outstanding shares of satellite-radio company Sirius XM Holdings Inc., in which it has a major stake. That deal may help fund an offer for Time Warner Cable.

Also in the fray is Comcast, which is said to be considering a bid for Time Warner Cable, either on its own or with Charter.

Since 2009, only two larger takeover offers were successful - Pfizer Inc.'s $64.2 billion deal for Wyeth LLC in 2009 and more recently, Verizon Communications Inc.'s $130 billion acquisition of Vodafone Group Plc's Verizon Wireless stake.

Time Warner Cable stock closed Monday at $132.42, down $0.94 or 0.70%, on a volume of 1.8 million shares on the NYSE. In after hours, the stock gained $0.57 or 0.43% at $132.99.

Charter Communications stock closed regular trade at $134.22, down $2.20 or 1.61%, on a volume of 850 thousand shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock gained $0.78 or 0.58% at $$135.00.