NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Comcast Corp. said Monday it is in talks with Time Warner Inc. to explore a possible deal to acquire bankrupt cable company Adelphia Communications Corp.

"Comcast is in discussions with Time Warner to explore a potential acquisition of Adelphia Communications," a company spokesman said.

Comcast, the country's largest cable operator, and Time Warner, the second largest, would buy all of Adelphia and divide it between them, said a Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the situation.

While it is not clear how much the joint venture would bid, the newspaper said experts estimate Adelphia could fetch as much as $17 billion.

According to the Journal, analysts have speculated that Comcast and Time Warner might mount a bid as a tax-free way of unwinding a 21 percent ownership stake that Comcast owns in Time Warner Cable, allowing Time Warner to give Comcast extra cable systems in exchange for Comcast's interest in Time Warner Cable.

Time Warner is the parent company of CNN/Money.

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Adelphia, the fifth largest cable company in the U.S. in terms of subscribers, owns cable systems in 31 states that serve 5.2 million subscribers, the newspaper reported.

Comcast (CMCSA: down $0.24 to $27.90, Research, Estimates) shares edged lower in early afternoon Nasdaq trading, while Time Warner (TWX: down $0.19 to $16.31, Research, Estimates) shares fell on the New York Stock Exchange.