Charter and Cox to merge in major cable deal

Charter Communications and Cox Communications, two of the largest cable companies in the U.S., have agreed to merge.

Charter Communications and Cox Communications, two of the largest cable companies in the U.S., have agreed to merge. 

The deal would be one of the largest in the industry — and across corporate America — in the last year. 

The agreement values Cox at $34.5 billion on an enterprise basis — comprised of $21.9 billion of equity and $12.6 billion of net debt and other obligations — in line with Charter’s recent enterprise value based on 2025 estimated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization multiple, according to a Friday news release. 

Shares of Charter — the second-largest publicly traded cable company behind Comcast — were up roughly 2% in early trading Friday. Privately run by the Cox family, Cox is among the biggest cable providers, too. Comcast is the parent company of NBC News and CNBC.

On a Friday call with investors, Charter CEO Chris Winfrey called the deal “good for America” and said it will “return jobs from overseas and create new, good paying customer service and sales careers.”