Charter Communications has completed its acquisition of Cox Communications and Liberty Broadband, creating a significantly larger telecommunications company that will operate Spectrum services across an expanded 45-state footprint.
Charter announced the completion of the transactions Thursday, August 20. The company said the combination will bring Spectrum’s internet, mobile, television and business services to former Cox markets, with new products and pricing expected to launch in mid-September.
For Cox customers, one of the first changes is already available: Spectrum is offering Cox internet customers who do not currently subscribe to Cox Mobile a free mobile line for one year. The company said additional Spectrum products and its pricing and packaging will become available to consumers in former Cox markets beginning in mid-September.
Charter President and CEO Chris Winfrey said the acquisition will allow the company to bring its products and customer-service model to more customers while expanding the company’s ability to compete with larger connectivity and entertainment providers.
“The addition of Cox to the Spectrum footprint is one that can be celebrated by customers, employees and investors alike,” Winfrey said.
What changes for Cox customers?
Spectrum said customers in former Cox markets will eventually have access to its full suite of services, including Spectrum Internet, Spectrum Mobile and Spectrum TV.
The company also highlighted its customer-service commitments, which it says will be implemented within the next year. Those include a U.S.-based customer service team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; faster responses to service disruptions; and credits for outages lasting longer than two hours.
Spectrum said it plans to transition Cox’s customer-service function back to the United States over the next 18 months.
The company also said businesses will benefit from the combination of Spectrum Business and Cox Business, including Cox’s fiber-based commercial provider Segra and managed cloud-services company RapidScale.
A major corporate transaction
Under the deal, Cox Enterprises received approximately $4 billion in cash, about $5 billion worth of Charter partnership units and $6 billion in convertible preferred units.
Cox Enterprises and its subsidiaries now own approximately 26% of the combined company’s fully diluted shares. Approximately $12 billion in Cox debt and finance leases will remain outstanding at Charter subsidiaries.
The Liberty Broadband transaction closed at the same time. Charter issued approximately 33.9 million shares to Liberty Broadband shareholders while retiring about 38.6 million Charter shares previously held by Liberty Broadband.
The deal also changes Charter’s leadership structure. Alex Taylor, chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, has been appointed chairman of Charter’s board, while Eric Zinterhofer becomes lead independent director. Winfrey will remain Charter’s president and CEO.
Charter said the parent company name will change to Cox Communications within a year, although the company will continue operating under the Spectrum name in all markets. The company will remain headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with a significant presence in Atlanta.
For customers in former Cox markets, the biggest changes are still ahead. Spectrum says its full product lineup, pricing, and packaging will begin rolling out in mid-September.
