Charter to acquire sixth-largest U.S. cable company for $10.4B

Charter Communications Inc. announced it will buy a majority stake in Syracuse, N.Y.-based cable company Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion.

Charter will pay $2 billion in cash plus common and convertible preferred stock for a 73.7 percent stake in Bright House, according to Bloomberg Business. Bright House is the nation’s sixth-largest cable company with approximately 2.5 million subscribers, and is owned by Si Newhouse Jr.’s Advance Publications Inc.

Charter’s move to purchase must first pass through several stages, including approval by Bright House’s shareholders and regulators, Time Warner Cable’s right of first offer for Bright House and the close of transactions between Charter and Comcast Corp. from April 2014. That deal would see the Stamford, Conn.-based cable company take control of 3.9 million Comcast subscribers, and followed Comcast’s $45.2 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable Inc. last year, which is also pending regulatory approval.

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