Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) has completed its acquisitions of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Bright House Networks, creating the second biggest U.S. cable provider which go by the name Charter.
The newly combined companies will now serve more than 25 million pay-TV and broadband customers across 41 states. Leading the company will be current Charter CEO Tom Rutledge, who will serve as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board. He kicked off the start of the newly combined company by thanking the management teams of all three companies and looking forward to "tremendous momentum."
"Current Bright House Networks and
Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable Chairman and CEO Rob Marcus released a goodbye letter to his cable company's more than 50,000 employees Tuesday.
The upshot: It's been a turbulent three years since Marcus took over for the late Glenn Britt in July 2013. And he's appreciative that the company kept its operational integrity together through two merger attempts — as one might be, if they stood to take home a post-merger severance package potentially valued at around $100 million.
Marcus told TWC employees that when he took the job, he did not expect "a hostile takeover offer, a proxy contest, a merger agreement, 14 months of regulatory review, termination of that first merger, a second merger agreement, 12 more months of regulatory review and endless integration planning."
Coming off a first quarter during which TWC added 21,000 video customers, 314,000 Internet users, while driving revenue up 5.8 percent, Marcus also tried to provide some contrast.
"Rather than let all the twists and turns of the last three years deter us from achieving our plan, we forged ahead, staying true to our vision, because we knew it was the right thing for our customers, our shareholders and each other," he said.
"And it paid off. Remember where we stood as we closed out 2013. We had just lost hundreds of thousands of customer relationships and a staggering three-quarters of a million video subs. Revenue and OIBDA growth were decelerating. Customer satisfaction was declining. And shareholders and analysts were levying blistering critiques of our performance. It was not a fun time to be at TWC," Marcus added.
Signing off, the outgoing chief executive said, "Being Time Warner Cable's CEO has been the most satisfying experience of my professional life. It has been interesting, challenging, sometimes frustrating, most of the time fun, and always fulfilling. It has been my distinct honor and privilege to serve as your leader."
For more:
- see this press release
- read this DSL Reports story
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