STAMFORD, Conn. — Charter Communications said it has completed its acquisition of Liberty Broadband and a transaction with Cox Communications, setting up an expansion of the Spectrum brand and product lineup across former Cox markets.
The company said the transactions expand its service footprint to 45 states. Charter plans to roll out Spectrum branding, pricing and packaging in former Cox markets in mid-September.
Company outlines ownership and leadership changes
As part of the Cox transaction, a Cox Enterprises subsidiary received approximately 33.6 million common units in Charter Holdings, $6 billion in convertible preferred units and about $4 billion in cash, according to Charter. Cox Enterprises and its subsidiaries now hold approximately 26% of the combined company’s fully diluted shares, the company said.
Charter also completed its acquisition of Liberty Broadband. The company said the deal resulted in a net decrease of about 4.7 million Charter shares outstanding and that Charter assumed approximately $840 million of Liberty Broadband net debt.
Alex Taylor, chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, has been appointed chairman of Charter’s board. Eric Zinterhofer will serve as lead independent director, while Chris Winfrey will remain Charter’s president and CEO.
Within a year, Charter plans to change its parent company name to Cox Communications while continuing to operate under the Spectrum brand, according to the announcement. The company said it will remain headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with a significant presence in Atlanta.
Spectrum services planned for former Cox markets
Charter said Cox internet customers who do not already have Cox Mobile will be eligible for a free Spectrum mobile line for one year. In mid-September, the company plans to introduce its full product suite to consumers in former Cox markets, including existing customers.
The company said Spectrum’s internet, mobile and television offerings will be available under its standard pricing and packaging. It also said Spectrum TV Select plans include several ad-supported streaming applications and that its TV app provides live TV, on-demand and DVR access on supported devices.
Over the next year, Charter said it intends to apply its customer-service commitments in former Cox markets. Those commitments include a U.S.-based customer-service team available around the clock, same-day technician dispatch when requested before 5 p.m. and credits for outages lasting more than two hours.
Workforce and business plans
Charter said it will apply its sales and service workforce model to Cox markets over the next 18 months and return Cox customer-service functions to the United States. The company said employees will have a starting wage of at least $20 an hour and access to benefits including health coverage, a 401(k) match, tuition-free education programs and discounted services.
The company also said it plans to combine Spectrum Business with Cox Business, including Segra and RapidScale, and expand Spectrum Networks into the Cox service area in the coming months.
Charter did not provide a market-by-market timeline for the transition beyond its planned mid-September product launch.
