The Charter Cox transaction has closed alongside Charter Communications’ acquisition of Liberty Broadband, completing a major restructuring of ownership, debt and equity across the combined cable group.
How the Charter Cox Transaction Reshapes Ownership and Debt
A Cox Enterprises subsidiary received approximately 33.6 million common units in Charter’s existing partnership with an implied value of about $5 billion. It also received $6 billion of convertible preferred units carrying a 6.875% coupon and approximately $4 billion in cash.
In total, Charter issued the equivalent of slightly more than 46 million shares to the Cox subsidiary. Cox Enterprises and its subsidiaries now own approximately 26% of the combined company’s fully diluted shares. About $12 billion of Cox debt and finance leases will remain outstanding at Charter subsidiaries following the transaction.
Charter completed the Liberty Broadband transaction at the same time. Liberty Broadband common shareholders received 0.236 Charter share for each share held, with cash provided instead of fractional shares. Charter retired approximately 38.6 million shares previously owned by Liberty Broadband and issued about 33.9 million shares to its common shareholders, reducing shares outstanding by roughly 4.7 million on a net basis.
The company also assumed approximately $840 million of Liberty Broadband net debt that it expects to repay shortly after closing. Another $180 million of preferred equity became Charter preferred equity. Liberty Broadband is no longer a direct Charter shareholder and no longer designates candidates for the Charter board.
Within a year, the parent company plans to adopt the Cox Communications name while continuing to operate under the Spectrum brand in its markets. The company will remain headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and retain a significant presence in Atlanta. The Charter Cox transaction therefore changes the parent identity and capital structure without replacing the consumer-facing Spectrum brand.
