Charter’s $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox has cleared its final major hurdle. California regulators approved the deal this week. The merger now moves toward closing.
The California Public Utilities Commission signed off with conditions. The combined company must offer affordable broadband to low-income Californians for five years. It must also invest at least $275 million to upgrade the state’s network.
The deal is expected to close next week. It already has approval from the Federal Communications Commission. The combination will create the largest cable company in the United States.
The merger brings together two major providers. Charter serves about 31.5 million customers. Cox serves roughly 6.5 million. Both face growing pressure from streaming services like Netflix.
Sports streaming has added to that pressure. Comcast, DirecTV, Fox, and soon ESPN all sell live sports without a cable subscription. Fewer viewers means fewer cable sign-ups.
The combined company will take the Cox name within a year. Spectrum will become its consumer-facing brand. Cox customers gain access to Charter’s simple pricing with no annual contracts. They also get credits for outages lasting longer than two hours.
The path to approval was not always smooth. FCC chair Brendan Carr had suggested his agency would not approve mergers from companies with diversity policies. The final sign-off arrived with the California conditions attached.
Charter CEO Chris Winfrey welcomed the step. He said the deal would fund better products and onshore jobs. “We will continue to deliver high-value products that save American families money,” he said.
For consumers, the merger will reshape the broadband map. One larger provider will compete against mobile carriers and fiber rivals. The companies say scale will let them compete more aggressively.
Source: The Verge.
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