Charter and Bright House form the latest big cable union
Cable television operator Charter Communications Inc said it would buy Bright House Networks in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $10.4 billion to expand in Florida.
Charter's shares rose 9 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday after Reuters reported the deal earlier in the day. A portion of the joint announcement from the two companies is below:
Charter Communications, Inc. CHTR, +5.78% and its subsidiary, CCH I, LLC (together, the "New Charter" or "Charter")1 and Advance/Newhouse Partnership (the parent company of Bright House Networks, LLC) today announced that the companies have reached a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") whereby Charter will acquire Bright House Networks ("Bright House") for $10.4 billion. Bright House is the sixth largest cable operator in the United States, and serves approximately 2 million video customers in central Florida including Orlando and Tampa Bay, as well as Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, and California.
The business will be conducted through a partnership (the "Partnership") of which Charter will own 73.7%, and of which Advance/Newhouse will own 26.3%. The consideration to be paid to Advance/Newhouse by New Charter will include common and convertible preferred units in the Partnership, in addition to $2 billion in cash. The partnership units owned by Advance/Newhouse will be exchangeable for common shares of New Charter. The deal is subject to several conditions, including Charter shareholder approval, the expiration of Time Warner Cable's right of first offer for Bright House, the close of Charter's previously-announced transactions with Comcast and regulatory approval.
Tom Rutledge, President and CEO of Charter Communications said, "Bright House Networks provides Charter with important operating, financial and tax benefits, as well as strategic flexibility. Bright House has built outstanding cable systems in attractive markets that are either complete, or contiguous with the New Charter footprint. This acquisition enhances our scale, and solidifies New Charter as the second largest cable operator in the US. I look forward to working with the Bright House team, whom we have known for years, in delivering great products and services to grow our market share."
Steven Miron, Chief Executive Officer of Bright House Networks said, "We are excited about our transaction with Charter. At Bright House Networks, we are very proud of what we have achieved - from the quality of our infrastructure to the level of service our employees provide to customers every day. We share the same vision for the future of our business as Tom and the Charter leadership team, which is to gain market share by offering customers competitive products and excellent service at a tremendous value. Also, our family has known and worked with Tom Rutledge for more than 20 years. Tom managed cable systems that were part of our partnership with Time Warner Cable prior to the formation of Bright House Networks. We think the combination with Charter gives our employees, our customers and Advance/Newhouse the strongest prospects for the future."
Pursuant to the Agreement, New Charter and Advance/Newhouse will form the Partnership utilizing an existing subsidiary of Charter Communications Holding Company, LLC, a partnership subsidiary of Charter. New Charter will contribute 100% of its assets into the Partnership, and Advance/Newhouse will contribute 100% of Bright House's assets into the Partnership. In exchange for its contribution, Advance/Newhouse will receive $5.9 billion of exchangeable common partnership units, and $2.5 billion of convertible preferred partnership units which will pay a 6% coupon. The common and convertible preferred partnership units are each exchangeable into New Charter Class A common stock, with 34.3 million common units priced at $173.00 (the "Reference Price") per share. The Reference Price negotiated with Advance/Newhouse represents the 60-day Charter volume weighted average price as of March 27, 2015, and adjusted from March 12, 2015. The 10.3 million preferred partnership units will be convertible at $242.19, a 40% premium to the Reference Price. Advance/Newhouse will also receive $2 billion in cash and will receive governance rights reflecting its economic ownership in the partnership through a new class of shares at New Charter.
In addition, Liberty Broadband Corporation ("Liberty Broadband") has agreed to purchase, upon closing of the Bright House transaction, $700 million of newly issued New Charter shares at the Reference Price. On an as-converted basis of its exchangeable partnership units, and including the impact of both the issuance of shares to acquire 33% of GreatLand Connections Inc. and Liberty Broadband's purchase of new shares, Advance/Newhouse is expected to own 26.3% of New Charter's outstanding common shares, and it is expected that Liberty Broadband's equity ownership will represent 19.4% of New Charter's outstanding common shares. In connection with the transaction, Advance/Newhouse has agreed to grant Liberty Broadband a voting proxy on its shares, capped at 6%, for the five years following the close of the transaction, such that Liberty Broadband would have total voting power of an anticipated 25.01% at closing. The proxy excludes votes on certain matters.
Upon closing, a new shareholder's agreement (the "Shareholder's Agreement") with Advance/Newhouse and Liberty Broadband will become effective. Under the new agreement, Advance/Newhouse and Liberty Broadband will be granted preemptive rights, allowing each to maintain their pro rata ownership in New Charter. The Shareholder's Agreement also provides for voting caps and required participation in buybacks at specified acquisition caps, and stipulates transfer restrictions among other shareholder governance matters.
At the close of the transaction, New Charter's Board of Directors will consist of 13 directors, including three directors designated by Advance/Newhouse and three directors designated by Liberty Broadband.
Goldman Sachs and LionTree Advisors are serving as financial advisors to Charter in connection with this transaction. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is acting as counsel to Charter and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is advising Charter on financing.
UBS Investment Bank is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Advance/Newhouse Partnership and Bright House Networks LLC, and Sabin, Bermant & Gould LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP are acting as legal advisors.
Teleconference and Webcast for Financial Community Charter will host a conference call on Tuesday, March 31, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) related to the contents of this release.
The conference call will be webcast live via Charter's website at charter.com. The webcast can be accessed by selecting "Investor & News Center" from the lower menu on the home page. The call will be archived in the "Investor & News Center" in the "Financial Information" section on the left beginning two hours after completion of the call. Participants should go to the webcast link no later than 10 minutes prior to the start time to register.
Those participating via telephone should dial 866-919-0894 no later than 10 minutes prior to the call. International participants should dial 706-679-9379. The conference ID code for the call is 18793992. A replay of the call will be available at 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406 beginning two hours after the completion of the call through the end of business on April 30, 2015. The conference ID code for the replay is 18793992.
Bright House, controlled by the Newhouse family, has about 2 million video customers in central Florida, includingOrlando and Tampa Bay as well as Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, and California.
