Paul Allen says Adelphia situation up in the air
Reuters
Thursday July 8, 6:11 pm ET
By Duncan Martell
SUN VALLEY, Idaho, July 8 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Paul Allen on Thursday said the fate of bankrupt cable TV operator Adelphia Communications (Other OTC:ADELQ.PK - News) remains unclear as rivals jockey for position in any possible future asset sale.
Adelphia, whose founder John Rigas and former finance chief Timothy Rigas, his son, were found guilty of fraud earlier in the day, is trying to recover from financial setbacks, and speculation has been that it may sell some of its lucrative cable system franchises.
"Adelphia's situation remains very much up in the air," Allen, also a co-founder of Microsoft Corp., told reporters at a retreat for executives in Sun Valley, Idaho, convened by investment bank Allen & Co. "People are saying it's going to take a while."
Allen, who is estimated to be worth about $21 billion, is chairman and the controlling shareholder of No. 3 U.S. cable TV provider Charter Communications Inc (NasdaqNM:CHTR - News).
"I've heard a number of different things," Allen said, when asked whether Adelphia would ultimately be sold off in pieces or as one entity. "I think they're going through their process. It's moving along but I don't get the sense there's anything imminent."
Management of Adelphia wants to reorganize the company, but shareholders and debt holders would rather the company be sold outright. Others have suggested that Comcast and Time Warner may make a joint bid and divide the assets between them.
"I think everybody in the business ... is interested in scale as an advantage of the business," Allen said.
Earlier in the day, Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX - News). Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Parsons declined to comment when asked by reporters about Adelphia.
Allen, known as one of the world's most reclusive billionaires who recently funded the first manned commercial space flight of SpaceShipOne, has been more visible recently.
Last month, he presided over the opening of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, as well as the space launch in the Mojave desert, which drew more than 20,000 curious onlookers.
Allen said that efforts are underway to explore a more affordable form of space tourism. "We're proving out the technology to do tourism where you basically have a ballistic flight where you go up and come down and you're weightless for three minutes."
Allen, 51, said that space travel is a particular interest for him.
"I think anybody that grew up in the era that I did has kind of a special affinity for space travel because that's when the Mercury launch and the Apollo launches took place." |
