, Columnist
Charter’s Last-Gasp Tie-Up With Cox Is Worth the Risk
The cable sector is bulking up to better compete with non-cable rivals like AT&T and Netflix.
Charter operates under the Spectrum brand.
Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg
The rainmakers have worked their sorcery. A drought in big-ticket mergers and acquisitions is ending with a downpour.
Charter Communications Inc. had previously telegraphed its appetite to acquire assets in its cable industry backyard. But Friday’s serving of a $34.5 billion deal for closely held peer Cox Communications is still a sizable move even for a buyer with an enterprise value of around $160 billion.