Biz Brief: Cablevision Systems Acquires Bresnan for $1.36 Billion
Cablevision Systems (CVC) announced Monday morning it will acquire Bresnan Communications, which is majority-owned by Providence Equity Partners, in a transaction valued at $1.365 billion. Providence bought Bresnan for $525 million in 2003, according to the Financial Times. Several other companies, including rival Comcast (CMCSA), have stakes in Bresnan. CVC said it will acquire Bresnan through a new wholly owned subsidiary.
Bresnan is the nation's thirteenth largest cable company with systems in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah that pass more than 630,000 homes and serve more than 300,000 basic subscribers, according to a statement. This would give Cablevision a much needed bigger slice of the high-speed Internet services market, where revenue is expected to rise to $210 billion globally in 2014 from $164 billion in 2009, according to ABI Research in Oyster Bay, New York.
Cablevision, which is controlled by the Dolan family, competed against bids from TPG Capital, BC Partners Ltd., Suddenlink Communications and Ascent Media Corp., Bloomberg News reported.
CVC shares dropped 3.6% to $22.55 in recent premarket trading.
