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Friday, January 17, 2014

Time Warner Cable deal likely to have strings attached by regulators, (NASDAQ: CHTR), (NYSE: TWC), (NYSE: TWX)

Any expansion by cable provider Comcast, including a deal with Charter Communications to split provider Time Warner Cable between them, would get a tough review from U.S. regulators, who might use the proposal to force Internet providers to treat all traffic equally, antitrust experts said. Charter Communications Inc reached out to Comcast Corp this week about teaming up to purchase Time Warner Cable Inc, according to people familiar with the matter.Comcast is the top U.S. cable provider and video provider, Time Warner Cable is No. 2 and Charter is the fourth largest.The Federal Communications Commission and U.S. antitrust authorities will closely scrutinize any deal between the companies since it would involve a vast range of content, video, cable and telephony.But ultimately the government would be unlikely to try to stop a deal, said Robert Doyle, an antitrust expert at Doyle, Barlow and Mazard PLLC, who argued that some antitrust concerns could probably be remedied by strategic asset sales.

Charter Communications, Inc. (Charter) provides cable services in the United States, offering a range of entertainment, information and communications solutions to residential and commercial customers. Shares of CHTR fell by 0.11% or $-0.15/share to $134.81. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $76.19 and as high as $144.02. On average, 881000 shares of CHTR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 495748.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) is a provider of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States with systems located in five geographic areas: New York State, the Carolinas, Ohio, Southern California and Texas. Shares of TWC traded higher by 0.26% or $0.355/share to $135.64. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $84.57 and as high as $139.85. On average, 2674040 shares of TWC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1460224.

Time Warner Inc. (Time Warner) is a media and entertainment company. Shares of TWX fell by 0.21% or $-0.135/share to $64.82. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $49.41 and as high as $70.77. On average, 4356410 shares of TWX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1822352.



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