Cable companies Charter and Cox to merge

Charter Communications and Cox Communications, two of the largest cable companies in the U.S., have agreed to merge. 

The deal would be one of the largest in the industry – and across corporate America – in the last year. 

The agreement values Cox at $34.5 billion on an enterprise basis – comprised of $21.9 billion of equity and $12.6 billion of net debt and other obligations – in line with Charter’s recent enterprise value based on 2025 estimated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization multiple, according to a Friday news release. 

Shares of Charter — the second-largest publicly traded cable company behind Comcast — closed slightly higher Friday. Privately run by the Cox family, Cox is among the biggest cable providers, too. 

On a Friday call with investors, Charter CEO Chris Winfrey called the deal “good for America” and said it will “return jobs from overseas and create new, good paying customer service and sales careers.”

The commentary comes as corporate deal activity has been slower than expected since President Donald Trump took office.

After Trump won the election, Wall Street rallied as many expected the regulatory environment to loosen and the flood gates to open for dealmakers and corporate leaders. But in the months following the election, companies have been contending with other factors rather than dealmaking, such as the Federal Communications Commission’s investigation into diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and the outcome of Trump’s tariffs.

Last fall communications giant Verizon announced a proposed $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications. However the deal has yet to receive regulatory approval as Verizon is being investigated for its DEI practices.

Charter’s Winfrey said on Friday the companies expect “to go through a fulsome process.”

The merger with Cox comes months after Charter announced it would acquire Liberty Broadband in an all-stock deal that simplifies cable pioneer John Malone’s portfolio. In February, Charter and Liberty Broadband stockholders approved the proposed deal. 

Charter expects there to be about $500 million in annualized cost synergies within three years of closing, according to the release.

The merger agreement with Cox is expected to close at the same time as the Liberty Broadband merger, the companies said Friday. Winfrey said on Friday’s call it’s hard to pinpoint timing, but said “we think that could be in the next year, mid next-year. But of course, we’ll follow the lead of regulators and work with them productively.”

The broadband industry has been contending with heated competition from wireless competitors in recent years as there’s been a rise in alternate home internet options like 5G, or so-called fixed wireless. This follows the continued loss of customers from the traditional cable TV bundle.

Charter had 30 million broadband customers…