REPORT: CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS TO BUY TIME WARNER CABLE

Charter Communications, the fourth-largest cable TV company in the U.S., is close to a deal to buy Time Warner Cable, the second-largest, the Wall Street Journal reported today (Friday), citing people familiar with the situation. According to the newspaper, Charter is seeking bank loans and loans from sovereign wealth funds and individuals to increase the cash component of the deal. Such a merger, the Journal observed, would likely trigger additional consolidations within the cable-TV business, something that has been looked upon favorably by John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media, which is the largest shareholder in Charter.