Charter and Cox $34B merger enhances its broadband and business service reach

Charter Communications and Cox Communications have agreed to merge, which the two companies say will make them an even larger force in the mobile and broadband communications market segments. 

The proposed transaction values Cox Communications at an enterprise value of approximately $34.5 billion based on, and at parity with, Charter’s recent enterprise value to 2025 estimated Adjusted EBITDA trading multiple.

Charter will acquire Cox Communications’ commercial fiber, managed IT, and cloud businesses as part of the deal. Cox Enterprises will contribute Cox Communications’ residential cable business to Charter Holdings, an existing subsidiary partnership of Charter.

Scale is a big part of the story. Upon completion, the combined company will have 69.5 million locations passed (57.2 million for Charter and 12.3 million for Cox). By comparison, Comcast ended Q1 2025 with 63.96 million US homes and businesses passed.

At closing, Cox Enterprises will own approximately 23% of the combined entity’s fully diluted shares outstanding, on an as-converted, as-exchanged basis, and pro forma for closing the Liberty Broadband merger.

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including receiving regulatory and Charter shareholder approvals. The combined entity will assume Cox’s approximately $12 billion outstanding debt.

Within a year of the merger's completion, the combined company will take on the Cox Communications name. Spectrum will become the consumer-facing brand within the communities Cox serves. The combined company will remain headquartered in Stamford, CT, and will maintain a significant presence on Cox’s Atlanta, GA, campus following closing.

From a management perspective, Charter’s current CEO, Chris Winfrey, will continue as president and CEO and board member. Alex Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, will join the board as Chairman. Eric Zinterhofer, Chairman of Charter’s Board of Directors, will become the lead independent director on Charter’s board.

Cox will have the right to nominate two more board members to Charter’s 13-member board. Advance/Newhouse, another storied cable innovator, which contributed its operations to Charter’s partnership in 2016, will retain its two board nominees.

Charter will get Cox's commercial fiber and managed IT and cloud business, and Cox Enterprise will contribute Cox's residential cable business to Charter Holdings, a subsidiary partnership of Charter.

Charter and Cox said the combined company will be better positioned for continued and expanded investment and innovation in key areas like broadband, mobile, and business services. Both providers have continued to make inroads against larger incumbent providers in the business market segment, gaining top rankings in service sets like Ethernet and SD-WAN.

For related articles, visit the Business Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.