US cable firm Comcast is set to acquire Time Warner Cable in a $45.2bn deal, which would integrate the top two cable television operators in the country.
The merger, which concludes Charter Communications’ long-drawn-out battle to acquire Time Warner Cable for $61bn, would take effect by the end of 2014 upon receiving the approval from the government.
Comcast has about 22 million television customers, double that of Time Warner Cable, and is also considering divesting about three million of Time Warner Cable’s about 11 million pay television subscribers.
With the merger Comcast would be major television and Internet services provider serving about one in three American homes, towering over its closest competitor DirecTV, which has about 20 million video customers.
The merger of communication networks would also bolster Comcast’s reign in the media world, while the 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal already makes it the large owner of media content.
