Deal talks between Altice and Time Warner Cable are ongoing: source

[May 20, 2015]  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Altice's acquisition of U.S. cable group Suddenlink has not dampened its interest in buying much larger Time Warner Cable, a source familiar with the matter said.

"Altice is very keen on Time Warner Cable," the person said after Altice's announcement of the $9.1 billion Suddenlink buy from private equity group BC Partners on Wednesday.

Talks between Altice and Time Warner Cable are continuing, the person said, but the European company faces competition for the second-largest cable group in the U.S. from John Malone's Charter Communications.

With a market value of $44.5 billion, TWC would also be big bite for Altice, which has a market value of about $30 billion.

Despite the size of a potential deal, Altice's offer for TWC is expected to be mainly in cash and not largely in shares, the person added.

($1 = 0.9006 euros)

(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Leila Abboud)
 

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