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 The deals, which would create the second-largest U.S. broadband
provider and third-largest video provider, now need approval from
regulators in California.
A state administrative judge last month recommended that
California's public utilities commission approve the deal. The
decision is expected at a May 12 hearing.
Tom Rutledge, president and chief executive of Charter, said in a
statement Friday that the transactions have "significant benefits"
including greater competition, broader access to affordable
broadband, and new U.S. jobs. The FCC-imposed conditions "are
largely extensions of the longstanding consumer friendly values and
practices of our company," Rutledge said.
A majority of the five-member FCC voted to approve the deals earlier
this week.
The FCC said in a statement Friday that an "order detailing the
commission’s reasoning and the conditions will be issued in the
coming days."
Charter has valued its deal for Time Warner Cable at $56.7 billion,
excluding debt, and the acquisition of Bright House at $10.4
billion.
The U.S. Justice Department gave antitrust approval to the
acquisitions with conditions on April 25 and earlier Charter and
Time Warner Cable shareholders approved the companies' deal.
The Justice Department's approval carried conditions designed to
protect competition, coming at a time when the pay television
industry faces stagnation due to new competition from over-the-web
rivals like Netflix Inc and Hulu.
The Justice Department said Charter agreed to refrain from telling
its content providers that they cannot also sell shows online as
part of the approval process.
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The conditions placed on FCC approval would require Charter to
extend high-speed internet access to another two million customers
within five years, with one million served by a broadband
competitor, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said.
Charter, backed by billionaire John Malone's Liberty Media Corp, had
pursued Time Warner Cable as far back as 2013.
The two companies had acrimonious exchanges in 2013 and early 2014
that ended with Time Warner Cable rejecting unsolicited approaches
by Charter and instead finding a white knight in Comcast Corp, the
No. 1 U.S. cable services provider, which ultimately abandoned the
transaction.
Separately, the FCC on Tuesday approved European telecoms group
Altice NV's acquisition of U.S. cable company Cablevision Systems
Corp in a $17.7 billion deal that includes assumption of debt.
The Dutch firm still needs approval from the state of New York and
New York City. If the deal is approved, Altice would become the
fourth largest U.S. cable provider. Cablevision has 3.1 million
subscribers, mostly in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Clive McKeef)
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