The cable industry may be about to get smaller. According to CNBC reporter David Faber's sources, Comcast will announce that it is buying Time Warner Cable tomorrow morning.
At this point, we don't have confirmation that the deal is indeed occurring, or any details beyond those in the financial journalist's tweets. The all-stock deal will reportedly be at $159 per share of Time Warner Cable, a deal with a market value of $44.2 billion according to Barron's calculations. Faber suggests that a Comcast / Time Warner Cable combination will get a tough review from the Federal Communications Commission, as you might expect with a telecom merger of this magnitude. According to Faber, Comcast is willing to shed some 3 million of its subscribers in an attempt to placate regulators.
If Faber's sources are correct, Comcast has managed to snatch Time Warner Cable right out from under a smaller cable company, Charter Communications. Charter has repeatedly tried and failed to buy TWC, offering $37.4 billion for the company just last month. While that was allegedly a lowball offer designed to draw shareholder attention, Charter reportedly brought in Comcast to help seal the deal with a joint proposal. Now, though, it appears Comcast may have decided to swallow TWC whole.