PURCHASE, N.Y.: Cablevision, Charter, Suddenlink and Liberty Media’s John Malone are among seven bidders going after Bresnan Communications, reports indicate. Bresnan is the cable TV operation started by the late entrepreneur William Bresnan. Bresnan Communications had around 320,000 subscribers in the Northwestern United States and is majority owned by Providence Equity Partners. Comcast holds a 30 percent stake in the company.
Bids ranged form $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. A winner is expected to be named next week.
Providence invested $525 million in Bresnan seven years ago and started floating a sale in March. WSJ said it was an attractive buy because the company generated steady cash flow with a compound annual growth rate of 20 percent since 2004. There is also little competition in the Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah markets it serves.
