In order to win the hearts, minds and votes of Time Warner Cable shareholders, it’s become a war of online presentations between Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable.
Today Charter Communications posted a follow up presentation on its website that came on the heels of Time Warner Cable’s rejection of its $132.50 per share bid for Time Warner Cable early last week. Charter’s offer was $83.00 in cash and $49.50 in Charter stock, which totaled $61.3 billion.
Time Warner Cable characterized Charter’s Jan. 13 offer as “grossly inadequate” in its counter presentation and proposed $160 per share with $100 in cash and 20 percent in collar. The next day, Charter Communications hosted a conference call during which its executives said Time Warner Cable was a “turnaround project” with a failed strategy.
On Friday, Time Warner Cable said it would outline its operating strategies on Jan. 30, but Charter said that might be too late.
“We believe the slow response should at best concern shareholders as to what, if any, strategy exists today, and could reflect yet another delay tactic for consensus,” Charter wrote in today’s presentation.
Charter also said that while it expected its subscriber numbers and bottom line to continue to improve this year “TWC’s value to Charter is declining, driven by continued customer relationship and triple play subscriber losses and financing costs from further delays.”
Charter said it was “in contact with TWC shareholders” and its next steps “will be determined by the level of support shareholders demonstrate for this combination at a price that benefits both set of shareholders.”
Charter also rebutted Time Warner Cable’s analysis of its proposal in today’s presentation and closed with: “The only real questions is whether TWC shareholders prefer 86 percent of the undistributed price in cash and 46 percent of NewCo, or the risk of a return to undistributed valuation trends with decelerating performance.”