|
Charter mulls $2B-$3B IPO
|
 |
March 17, 1999: 11:42 a.m. ET
Paul Allen-owned cable company said to seek proceeds for acquisitions
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Charter Communications, the cable television operator owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is planning to go public with the sale of some of Allen's stock, according to a report published Wednesday.
USA Today said Allen will sell between $2 billion and $3 billion worth of stock in Charter, the St. Louis-based company that's the nation's seventh-largest cable operator. The paper said the proceeds of the sale will be used to buy additional franchises.
"It is under consideration at this time, but no final decision has been made," a spokeswoman for Allen's Vulcan Ventures said.
The offering could be the largest ever for a company solely dedicated to cable television. Most of the top cable operators -- including Time Warner (TWX), Comcast (CMCSA) and Cablevision (CVC) -- own other operations; Time Warner is the parent of CNN and CNNfn.
Several top cable operators also have been absorbed in recent months, with Tele-Communications Inc.'s acquisition by AT&T (T), the most notable.
Charter was acquired by Allen last summer for $4.5 billion. Since then, the company has snapped up six small and midsize systems. Once those deals close, the company will have about 3.4 million subscribers, primarily in the Northeast, South and West.
Allen, one of the nation's wealthiest people, is said to believe cable systems offer a prime opportunity to offer high-speed Internet access and phone service. USA Today said Allen plans to offer his own high-speed Internet connection service rather than ally with the two leaders in the cable connection industry: @home (ATHM) and Road Runner.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charter Communications
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
