Cox buys Virginia firm for $1.4 billion
By Bloomberg News
Special to CNET News.com
April 22, 1999, 3:25 p.m. PT
news.com
Cox Communications, the fifth-largest U.S. cable company, agreed to buy Media
General cable systems for $1.4 billion in cash, expanding the number of customers
it serves in Virginia by 260,000.
The transaction is expected to close later this year pending regulatory approvals and will
be added to Cox systems serving 450,000 customers in the state.
The U.S. cable industry is in a period of rapid consolidation
as cable companies seek larger customer bases to spread
the costs of technological upgrades. The companies are
enhancing systems to offer more channels, interactive
television guides, telephone service, and high-speed Internet
connections.
Just today, AT&T made a counter bid to Comcast's $60
billion offer to buy MediaOne Group.
"Entering this market allows us to further our strategy of of
operating large systems in metropolitan areas," Cox
president Jim Robbins said in a statement. Cox is paying
almost $5,400 per cable subscriber.
Cox is buying Media General's Northern Virginia cable operations, which include
customers mainly in Fairfax County, and near the city of Fredricksburg.
"With the consolidation that's taking place its becoming difficult to continue as a single
operator," said Media General vice president Robert Pendergast. "The timing was right for
the sale, and we think our shareholders will be happy with it." |
