/ 06.10.2010 12:00AM
Bids for Bresnan’s 320,000 Cable Subs Exceed $1 Billion
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.