According to a recent story by Bloomberg, Time Warner Cable is also in the running to buy the former Bresnan systems, which are now called Optimum West, from Cablevision.

Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and Suddenlink Communications – which are the second-, fourth- and seventh-largest cable operators in the nation, respectively – have all submitted first-round bids to Cablevision for Optimum West. The negotiations are private, but Bloomberg cited three unidentified people as its sources on the bidders.

Bloomberg also reported that a deal would be announced this month, or in February.

Optimum West serves subscribers in Montana, where it has a master headend, and in Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. Cablevision, the nation’s fifth-largest cable operator, bought the Bresnan systems two years ago from Providence Equity Partners.

Former Cablevision chief operating officer Tom Rutledge was in charge of the new Bresnan subsidiary at the time of the purchase, but he has since moved on to the CEO and president positions at Charter Communications. Suddenlink was one of the previous bidders for Bresnan before Cablevision emerged as the winner.

Bresnan was formed in 2003 by cable pioneer Bill Bresnan, who passed away in 2009. At the time of the Cablevision purchase, Bresnan served more than 320,000 basic subscribers in largely rural areas in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Cablevision’s New York City metro area footprint is contiguous, while Bresnan’s is spread out among rural communities out West.