AT&T to Sell Some Cable TV Systems to Mediacom
AT&T Corp.'s broadband division said yesterday that the company has reached a deal to sell cable television assets in four states to New York-based Mediacom Communications for more than $2 billion.The cash deal calls for Mediacom to buy AT&T Broadband's cable TV systems for Mediacom's more than 840,000 basic subscribers in Illinois, Georgia, Iowa and Missouri.
"This transaction represents a unique opportunity to purchase highly attractive systems, including several serving the top 100 markets," said Rocco Commisso, Mediacom's chairman/CEO.
The deal is similar to one that the two companies made last month when Mediacom said it had agreed to buy AT&T's cable systems to serve its more than 14,000 subscribers in Fairhope, AL. That deal was estimated to be worth about $34 million.
"Mediacom does a terrific job managing systems outside the major markets such as these, so this transaction will prove good for us, Mediacom and, most important, customers and employees of the systems," said Dan Somers, AT&T Broadband president/CEO.
AT&T's cable and high-speed Internet division is the country's largest broadband services company, providing television entertainment services to about 16 million customers.
