Charter makes $37.4 billion bid for Time Warner Cable

Charter Communications has made a $37.4 billion bid to buy and merge with Time Warner Cable, its third attempt at reaching a deal, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

“Charter Communications went public with a long-awaited, $37.4 billion cash-and-stock bid for Time Warner Cable that the nation’s second-largest cable-television company had privately rebuffed,” calling the offer “grossly inadequate,” according to the report.

{mosads}Charter Communications published a letter to Time Warner Cable CEO Robert Marcus on Monday, outlining its previous proposals and expressing interest in finalizing “a deal on an extremely expedited basis.”

“This transaction is beneficial to Time Warner Cable shareholders who remain invested in the combined company because they realize the value creation from cost reductions, faster organic growth, and leveraged and tax advantaged returns,” Charter Communications CEO Thomas Rutledge wrote.

“By making the letter public, Stamford, Conn.-based Charter, backed by billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp., is seeking to enlist shareholders of Time Warner Cable to put pressure on the company’s management and board to negotiate a deal,” according to the report.

Rutledge told The Wall Street Journal that Charter Communications will increase its offer and wants “to talk to Time Warner Cable shareholders and convince them that putting together the companies, fixing [Time Warner Cable’s] customer service issues and getting the company back on a growth trajectory will create enormous value for shareholders.”