NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) and Time Warner Cable are
preparing to submit a joint bid for all of Adelphia Communications Corp.'s
(ADELQ) assets, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The companies, which have said they have been mulling a joint bid,
reportedly decided to go ahead with a bid after deciding against separate bids
for certain parts of the company's network.
The two companies likely will face some competition from private-equity
firms and cable entrepreneurs, such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.,
Providence Equity Partners and J.P. Morgan, that may either bid for parts of
the business or join forces for a competing offer for all the cable operator's
assets.
After some initial trepidation from the board, Adelphia agreed in October to
allow Time Warner Cable and Comcast to bid together, The Wall Street Journal
reported previously.
In preparation for its sale, Adelphia split its national network into seven
geographic "clusters," which combined some of its most desirable properties
with those less sought after.
Adelphia filed for bankruptcy in June 2002 after an accounting scandal.
Under new management, the company has done much to improve its finances and
operations, but was forced to put itself up for this sale last summer after
creditors and equity holders objected to the company's reorganization plan,
which valued the company at $17 billion. Opponents said the company would get
more if it put itself up for sale.
The company has set a late January deadline for accepting bids and will make
a decision about its fate - to proceed with a sale or continue as an
independent company - soon afterward. A sale could close as soon as the fourth
quarter of this year, Chief Executive Bill Schleyer said.
A Comcast spokesman declined to comment. Representatives from Adelphia and
Time Warner Cable, a unit of Time Warner Inc. (TWX), were not immediately
available to comment.
preparing to submit a joint bid for all of Adelphia Communications Corp.'s
(ADELQ) assets, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The companies, which have said they have been mulling a joint bid,
reportedly decided to go ahead with a bid after deciding against separate bids
for certain parts of the company's network.
The two companies likely will face some competition from private-equity
firms and cable entrepreneurs, such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.,
Providence Equity Partners and J.P. Morgan, that may either bid for parts of
the business or join forces for a competing offer for all the cable operator's
assets.
After some initial trepidation from the board, Adelphia agreed in October to
allow Time Warner Cable and Comcast to bid together, The Wall Street Journal
reported previously.
In preparation for its sale, Adelphia split its national network into seven
geographic "clusters," which combined some of its most desirable properties
with those less sought after.
Adelphia filed for bankruptcy in June 2002 after an accounting scandal.
Under new management, the company has done much to improve its finances and
operations, but was forced to put itself up for this sale last summer after
creditors and equity holders objected to the company's reorganization plan,
which valued the company at $17 billion. Opponents said the company would get
more if it put itself up for sale.
The company has set a late January deadline for accepting bids and will make
a decision about its fate - to proceed with a sale or continue as an
independent company - soon afterward. A sale could close as soon as the fourth
quarter of this year, Chief Executive Bill Schleyer said.
A Comcast spokesman declined to comment. Representatives from Adelphia and
Time Warner Cable, a unit of Time Warner Inc. (TWX), were not immediately
available to comment.
