Comcast/TWC merger dominates comms M&A Q1’14
April 15, 2014
Comcast’s pending merger with Time Warner Cable – which had an announced transaction value of $69.58 billion, according to SNL Kagan data – was far and away the largest deal announced in the communications industry during the first quarter.
As such, it helped multiple advisers take the lead in SNL Kagan’s financial adviser rankings based on transaction or deal value for the period.
Among the advisers that participated on the $69.58 billion transaction were Allen & Co. LLC, Barclays Capital Inc.,Centerview Partners LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley and PJT Capital LLC.
Under the terms of the pending deal, Comcast will acquire 100 per cent of Time Warner Cable’s 284.9 million shares outstanding for shares of Comcast. Each Time Warner Cable share will be exchanged for 2.875 shares of Comcast, equal to Time Warner Cable shareholders owning about 23 per cent of Comcast’s common stock.
While the transaction will undoubtedly face intense regulatory scrutiny, Comcast Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer David Cohen recently dismissed the criticism, saying the deal is “a lot less scary, a lot less large and a lot less complicated than some people would like to make it”.