Go big or go home – that’s how John Malone rolls. But even by his titanic standards his pursuit of Time Warner Cable is staggering and will ultimately prove too much to bite off. Three months ago the prodigal son of cable returned to his roots by acquiring – through his Liberty Media company – a 27 per cent stake in Charter Communications for $2.6bn. Charter is the fourth-largest US cable provider with 5m subscribers and an enterprise value of $25bn. By contrast, Time Warner Cable has 15m subscribers and an enterprise value of $55bn, which illustrates just how audacious Mr Malone’s play actually is.
要么做大、要么回家——这就是约翰•马龙(John Malone)的风格。但即便按照他的超大号版本的标准，他对时代华纳有线(Time Warner Cable, TWC)的要约也相当惊人，并将最终证明是难以吞下的。三个月前，这位出手阔绰的有线电视业浪子做回了自己本行——通过其自由媒体公司(Liberty Media company)，以26亿美元价格收购了Charter通信(Charter Communications) 27%的股份。Charter是美国第四大有线电视供应商，拥有500万用户和250亿美元企业价值。相比之下，时代华纳有线拥有1500万用户和550亿美元企业价值，这说明马龙打的牌有多冒进。