Charter Communications closer than ever to renewing Time Warner Cable acquisition offer, reports say

A year ago, Comcast made a $45 billion offer for Time Warner Cable, saving the latter company from falling into the arms of Charter Cable.

Last week, FCC pressure — related, in a way, to the agency’s earlier decision in favor of net neutrality — led Comcast to abandon its bid for Time Warner. And now, Charter is suddenly back in play, it appears.

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Lending credence to rumors that popped up last week and over the weekend, both the Wall Street Journal and Reuters are reporting today that Charter’s interest in TWC is real, and that the parties are getting closer to an agreement.

Time Warner “views Charter’s stock as a more valuable currency than it did last year given its stock performance since then,” Reuters noted. Charter’s stock is up more than 40 percent since its earlier offer was rejected.

TWC’s chief executive, Rob Marcus, gave the WSJ a generic “maximizing shareholder value” quote, saying he was open to considering whatever options were best for the company’s shareholders. But he stopped short of confirming that a deal was in the works or naming a target price.

A merged TWC-Charter would be a telecommunications giant, with 15.6 million video subscribers and 16.4 million broadband customers, the WSJ noted.

Neither company has a stellar reputation for customer service, however. But you could say that about just about every provider of cable TV and Internet services.