Charter Closes $34.5 Billion Cox Deal in Cable Megamerger, Company to Adopt Cox Communications Name
Charter Communications, already the No. 1 cable operator in the U.S., closed its acquisition of Cox Communications, creating a cable giant with operations in 45 states serving roughly 37 million customers.
The closing of the deal, valued at $34.5 billion, comes after the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) last week voted to approve the transaction, which was the final federal and state regulatory approval required. Charter announced the deal to acquire Cox in May 2025.
Within a year, the merged company will change its parent company name to Cox Communications. But it will operate its services as Spectrum (which is Charter’s moniker) across all markets. The company will remain headquartered in Stamford, Conn., while keeping a “significant presence” in the Atlanta area (where Cox was based).
With the deal, John Malone’s Liberty Broadband ceased to be a direct shareholder in Charter and no longer designates directors for election to the Charter board. Malone, the “cable cowboy” who has engineered many of the biggest deals in the sector over the years, acquired a 27% stake in Charter in 2013.
“When Liberty first invested in Charter more than a decade ago, we saw an opportunity to build scale behind a great management team and operating model,” Malone said in a statement. “The combination of Charter and Cox creates a stronger, more competitive company to further invest and innovate, while giving Liberty Broadband shareholders a direct interest in its future.”
Cox Enterprises, former parent of Cox Communications, remains a separate entity and now owns approximately 26% of Charter, making it the combined company the largest single shareholder.
Chris Winfrey, Charter president and CEO, will continue to lead the combined company and serve on its board. In a statement, Winfrey (pictured above) said, “The addition of Cox to the Spectrum footprint is one that can be celebrated by customers, employees and investors alike. Together, we will bring the best products, at the best price, coupled with the highest level of customer service to more customers across our expanded 45-state Spectrum footprint. And Cox employees will soon have access to all the programs and benefits that have made Charter an employer of choice where its 100% U.S.-based employees can build long-term careers.”
Alex Taylor, chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, has been appointed chairman of the newly merged company. Eric Zinterhofer (formerly Charter’s chairman) has been named the lead independent director of the board. In addition to Taylor, Cox Enterprises has appointed Dallas Clement and Mark Greatrex to Charter’s 13-member board.
Advance/Newhouse, which, like Cox, contributed its operations to Charter’s partnership in 2016, will retain its two board seats held by Steve Miron and Michael Newhouse. With Liberty Broadband no longer a Charter shareholder, its designated board members Martin Patterson and J. David Wargo have stepped down from the board. In addition, John Markley Jr. retired from the Charter board effective as of the close of the transaction. Balan Nair, president and CEO of Liberty Latin America (in which Malone holds a minority stake), will continue to serve on the Charter board as an independent director.
In 2016, Charter massively expanded its footprint through the $67.1 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. That more than tripled Charter’s customer base, to more than 25 million at the time.
In 2014, Brian Roberts’ Comcast announced a $45.2 billion bid to buy Time Warner Cable. However, Comcast scrapped the takeover attempt the following year amid regulatory pushback from the Obama administration, which was said to have wanted Comcast to spin off NBCUniversal into a separate company — a nonstarter for Roberts and company at the time. This June, Comcast announced plans to split off NBCU (and the U.K.’s Sky) into a separate company, thereby giving both the cable biz and the media properties “distinct strategic opportunities.”