Comcast launches investment company

Comcast Corp. has launched a new company that will invest and operate domestic and international growth-oriented companies. Michael J. Angelakis, Comcast's vice chairman and CFO, will run the new company as CEO. He'll have $4.1 billion to play with, including at least $40 million of his own money.

The areas in which the new company will invest remain unclear, as does the company's name. The move was couched as an outgrowth of the fact that the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger is almost complete, despite the ongoing delays in receiving federal approval.

To wit: "As Comcast approaches the completion of the Time Warner Cable merger and related transactions, and the integration plans are well advanced, Michael is ready and excited to turn his attention to the next phase of his career and relationship with Comcast," said Brian L. Roberts, Comcast chairman and CEO, via a press release.

Roberts also may have dropped hints regarding potential investment areas when he said, "This is a time of tremendous change and opportunity in our core technology and media industries, as well as in adjacent business areas. We believe the ability to establish entrepreneurial ventures that partner with and participate in the growth of innovative companies can be an important driver of strategic and financial value creation for our company."

Comcast will provide $4.0 billion of investment funding. In addition to Angelakis's stake, other senior members of the new company's management team are expected to contribute some cash. The new company will have an exclusive, 10-year partnership with Comcast as sole outside investor.

Angelakis has experience in investing, having served as a managing director and member of the Investment and Management Committees at Providence Equity Partners before joining Comcast. He also served as a vice president of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., where he oversaw one of the bank's media and communications portfolios and spent several years in London developing Manufacturers Hanover's acquisition finance and merchant banking activities throughout Western Europe.

Meanwhile, Comcast says it will launch a search for a new CFO. Angelakis will continue to serve Comcast as a senior advisor once his replacement comes onboard. He will assist with the new CFO's transition and begin the integration process for the Time Warner Cable and related transactions – assuming those deals receive all the necessary approvals by then.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.