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Significant Transactions
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6 Months Ended |
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Jun. 30, 2014
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| Significant Transactions | Note 4: Significant Transactions Time Warner Cable Merger On February 12, 2014, we entered into an agreement and plan of merger (the “merger agreement”) with Time Warner Cable Inc. (“Time Warner Cable”). As a result of the merger agreement, we will acquire 100% of Time Warner Cable’s outstanding shares of common stock in exchange for shares of our Class A common stock (the “Time Warner Cable merger”). Time Warner Cable stockholders will receive, in exchange for each share of Time Warner Cable common stock owned immediately prior to the Time Warner Cable merger, 2.875 shares of our Class A common stock. Time Warner Cable stockholders will then own approximately 23% of our common stock, an estimate based on the number of shares outstanding as of the date of the merger agreement. Because the exchange ratio was fixed at the time of the merger agreement and the market value of our Class A common stock will continue to fluctuate, the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued and the total value of the consideration exchanged will not be determinable until the closing date. Following the close of the Time Warner Cable merger, Time Warner Cable will be our wholly owned subsidiary. The Time Warner Cable merger remains subject to shareholder approval at both companies, regulatory review and other customary conditions. It is reasonably possible that the Time Warner Cable merger will close by the end of 2014. Divestiture Transactions The terms of the merger agreement contemplate that we are prepared to divest systems serving up to approximately 3 million video customers of the combined company to reduce competitive concerns. As a result of this commitment, on April 25, 2014, we entered into a transactions agreement with Charter Communications, Inc. (“Charter”) that, if consummated, would satisfy our divestiture undertaking. Under the transactions agreement, following the close of the Time Warner Cable merger and subject to various conditions, we would divest cable systems resulting in a net disposition of approximately 3.9 million video customers through three transactions: (1) a spin-off of cable systems serving approximately 2.5 million of our video customers (the “spin-off transaction”) into a newly formed public entity (“SpinCo”), (2) an exchange of cable systems serving approximately 1.5 million Time Warner Cable video customers for cable systems serving approximately 1.7 million Charter video customers, and (3) a sale to Charter of cable systems serving approximately 1.5 million Time Warner Cable video customers for cash (collectively, the “divestiture transactions”). In connection with the spin-off transaction and prior to the spin-off, it is expected that SpinCo will incur new debt to fund a distribution to us in the form of cash and notes, which will enable us to retire a portion of our debt. In the spin-off transaction, we will distribute common stock of SpinCo pro rata to the holders of all of our outstanding common stock, including the former Time Warner Cable stockholders who continue to hold shares through the record date of the spin-off transaction. After the spin-off transaction, a newly formed, wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Charter will merge with and into Charter with the effect that all shares of Charter will be converted into shares of a new holding company, which will survive as the publicly traded parent company of Charter (“New Charter”). New Charter will then acquire an interest in SpinCo by issuing New Charter stock in exchange for a portion of the outstanding SpinCo stock, following which Comcast shareholders, including the former Time Warner Cable stockholders, are expected to own approximately 67% and New Charter is expected to own approximately 33% of SpinCo. The close of the divestiture transactions is subject to the completion of the Time Warner Cable merger, Charter stockholder approval, completion of the SpinCo financing transactions, regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. The Time Warner Cable merger and the divestiture transactions are subject to separate conditions, and the Time Warner Cable merger can be completed regardless of whether the divestiture transactions are ultimately completed. |