A merger that would create one of the largest television and internet providers in the country will provide an early test case for the antitrust executors of President Trump. Charter Communications and Cox Communications announced the agreement on Friday in a suitable statement to reflect the president’s rhetoric, the New York Times Reports. The agreement “Puts America first”, said their press release, bringing the customer service from abroad. Companies have also praised the value of the addition of “hyperlocal and impartial news” produced by Charter Spectrum news stations to COX customers; Trump and his administration have repeatedly declared the coverage of media information against him. The press release has not stressed that Cox’s parents have the Washington News Axios site.
The agreement, which puts the value of COX at around 34.5 billion dollars, calls on charter to pay in cash and shares for COX. In the year following the fence, the combined company would bear the name of Cox and would sell consumer services under the Spectrum brand. Companies predict annual discounts of $ 500 million in expenditure in a few years from “purchase networks and typical general costs”. The CEO of the charter, Chris Winfrey, will become president and chief executive officer of the combined company, by the AP, while the CEO and president of Cox, Alex Taylor, will be president. An antitrust authorization is required for the agreement to be concluded.
The Trump administration warned companies that it should not assume the approval and moved to stop the acquisition of $ 14 billion by Hewlett Packard Enterprise of Juniper Networks, for example, according to the Times. The president of the Federal Trade Commission suggested so much last month. “I have no ideological predisposition against mergers and acquisitions,” said Andrew Ferguson, adding: “It does not follow, however, that I should be just an open season” to reduce agreements. COX is the third largest cable television company in the United States, with more than 6.5 million digital, internet, telephone and home security customers. Charter Communications, better known as Spectrum, by AP, has more than 32 million customers in 41 states. (More mergers and acquisition stories.)
