Charter Communications Reviewing Acquisition Targets
Cable company Charter Communications and its 27-percent shareholder Liberty Media have been aggressively reviewing potential acquisition targets as they focus on how to consolidate the cable industry.

But while Charter has made an overture to Time Warner Cable and rumors are swirling in the industry, the company has not yet figured out what deal, if any, it would make.

A few weeks ago, Liberty's CEO Greg Maffei discussed the idea of the far smaller Charter entering a merger of equals with Time Warner Cable in a face-to-face meeting with that company's CEO, Glenn Britt. Maffei said no offer was made and the two men, who speak with some frequency, spoke generally about cable consolidation.

Sources close to Time Warner Cable said the company indicated it had no interest in any sort of a linkup with Charter, believing that it was simply an attempt by Charter to use Time Warner's balance sheet along with its own high multiple stock to pursue a deal that did not make financial sense.