REUTERS/Mike Blake. A Time Warner Cable office is pictured in San Diego, California.
Comcast plans to acquire Time Warner Cable for about $159 a share in an all-stock deal that will combine America's two largest cable companies, reports CNBC. The newly merged company will be called "why is my internet so slow." And Net Neutrality is about to become all the more important.
Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable in all stock deal worth $159 per $TWC share- sources. Deal set for tomorrow morning. Ratio is 2.875 $CMCSA.
— DAVID FABER (@davidfaber) February 13, 2014
Comcast will indicate willingness to divest 3m subs from combination with $TWC– sources.
— DAVID FABER (@davidfaber) February 13, 2014
Snip from CNBC story, the first to break the news:
The new company, created by the $44 billion purchase, would be by far the largest cable provider in the nation with over 33 million subscribers, and is certain to face a tough review from the Federal Communications Commission.
The agreement comes more than eight months after Charter Communictions and Liberty Media made their first foray to try and negotiate a deal to acquire Time Warner Cable (a story broken by CNBC) and follows months of conversations between Time Warner Cable and Comcast about the prospect of a Comcast acquisition of the company.
Charter's offer of roughly $133 a share in cash and stock has been rejected by Time Warner Cable as it held out for a price of $160, which it has said it reflective of where an asset of its size and scope should trade in a deal.
Brace yourselves, internet.
BREAKING: Comcast and Time Warner merging to create bigger, shittier monopoly.
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) February 13, 2014
Comcast and TWC aren’t competitors. It’s not good to consolidate ownership, but it doesn’t reduce choice. They were already cartel partners.
— Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) February 13, 2014
Everyone who is worried about the Comcast Time Warner Cable merger can relax. I'm still getting a solid 28.8K on my modem.
— Dave Pell (@davepell) February 13, 2014
Note that almost uniquely in America, Verizon Fios and Cablevision compete in many markets and, surprise, no caps, better pricing.
— Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) February 13, 2014
Note that AT&T suddenly, magically revamped its wireless data plans after T-Mobile introduced actually compelling competitive offers.
— Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) February 13, 2014
Note that AT&T suddenly, magically revamped its wireless data plans after T-Mobile introduced actually compelling competitive offers.
— Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) February 13, 2014
And yet the telecoms/internet firms persist in this delightful façade that, despite huge profits, we’re as competitive as possible already.
— Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) February 13, 2014
For Comcast, the crown jewel of @TWC is the New York City market. Soon @Comcast will have its 30 Rock studios AND the cable pipes beneath.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 13, 2014
There will be lots of Q's about government scrutiny of this deal. For what it's worth, Comcast is very well-connected in DC…
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 13, 2014
…Timely example: David Cohen, Comcast's head of lobbying, corporate communications, etc was a guest at the WH state dinner last night.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 13, 2014
My initial @CNNMoney story about @Comcast + @TWC: http://t.co/NgPiA9jCci The two companies want to close the deal by the end of this year.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 13, 2014
Here's my cartoon on Comcast and Time Warner and now I'm going to have a drink pic.twitter.com/qnoJKArXpJ
— Panoptisuz (@susie_c) February 13, 2014
WHAT THE FUCK @FCC YOU HAD ONE JOB
— dont kill me obama (@onekade) February 13, 2014
Time Warner and Comcast are merging. Now all we need is for Verizon to join and one of them to bomb Pearl Harbor.
— Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) February 13, 2014
The ghosts of 30 Rock are raging tonight.
— NYTFridge (@NYTFridge) February 13, 2014
Interesting that @davidfaber broke the $TWC/Comcast story.
— NYTFridge (@NYTFridge) February 13, 2014
You guys, just think about how much easier everything will be when there is only one company for everything!
— Sean Bonner Ⓥ (@seanbonner) February 13, 2014
Comcast and Time Warner. Two horrible disasters merging. This is like a crappy SyFy channel movie but real.
— Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) February 13, 2014
Representatives from Comcast and Time Warner, when reached for comment. pic.twitter.com/uG90ix5IUG
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) February 13, 2014
It's nice that Comcast and Time Warner are getting together, because people were getting tired of hating Russia and winter and fracking
— John Schwartz — NYT (@jswatz) February 13, 2014
@xeni You get a data cap! And you get a data cap! EVERYONE gets a data cap! </oprah> @ardalis
— James Hollingshead (@bladesjester) February 13, 2014
TWC goes to Comcast. This chart helps put it in to perspective. pic.twitter.com/XmlAZvOE3Y
— James Gross (@James_Gross) February 13, 2014
