Filed by Charter Communications Inc.
Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
and deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934
Subject Company: Charter Communications Inc.
Commission File No. 001-33664
The following is a press release that was issued on November 5, 2014 by Charter Communications, Inc.:
 | NEWS |
Charter Closes on $3.5 Billion Senior Unsecured Notes
STAMFORD, Connecticut - November 5, 2014 - Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) (along with its subsidiaries, “Charter”) today announced that its subsidiary, CCOH Safari, LLC, closed on the public sale of $3.5 billion of senior unsecured notes in two tranches, due in 2022 (the “2022 Notes”) and 2024 (the “2024 Notes” and, collectively with the 2022 Notes, the “Notes”). The 2022 Notes total $1.5 billion in aggregate principal amount and bear an interest rate of 5.50% per annum. The 2024 Notes total $2.0 billion in aggregate principal amount and bear an interest rate of 5.75% per annum. The Notes were issued at par.
The Notes resulted in net proceeds to Charter of approximately $3.46 billion after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions. Charter intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes to finance Charter’s previously announced acquisition, from Comcast Corporation (“Comcast”), of cable systems serving approximately 1.5 million Time Warner Cable Inc. (“TWC”) video customers. The net proceeds may also be used for any “true up” payment made by Charter to Comcast associated with the previously announced asset transfer between Charter and Comcast of cable systems serving approximately 1.5 million TWC video customers and approximately 1.6 million Charter video customers, and transaction and financing expenses. The offering and sale of the Notes were made pursuant to an effective automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and prospectus supplement dated October 29, 2014.
All proceeds from the Notes will remain in escrow at CCOH Safari, LLC until the closing of the previously announced transactions between Charter and Comcast, at which time the Notes will become obligations of Charter’s subsidiaries, CCO Holdings, LLC and CCO Holdings Capital Corp.
About Charter
Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter TV® video entertainment programming, Charter Internet® access, and Charter Phone®. Charter Business® similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, video and music entertainment services, and wireless backhaul. Charter's advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media® brand.
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Contact:
Media: | Analysts: |
Justin Venech | Stefan Anninger |
203-905-7818 | 203-905-7955 |
Important Information For Investors And Shareholders
This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. In connection with the proposed transaction between Comcast Corporation (“Comcast”) and Charter Communications, Inc. (“Charter”), Charter will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a registration statement on Form S-4 that will include a proxy statement of Charter that also constitutes a prospectus of Charter, and a definitive proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of Charter. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF COMCAST AND CHARTER ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement and the proxy statement/prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by Comcast or Charter through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Comcast are available free of charge on Comcast’s website at http://cmcsa.com or by contacting Comcast’s Investor Relations Department at 866-281-2100. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Charter will be available free of charge on Charter’s website at charter.com, in the “Investor and News Center” near the bottom of the page, or by contacting Charter’s Investor Relations Department at 203-905-7955.
Shareholders of Comcast and Time Warner Cable are not being asked to vote on the proposed transaction between Comcast and Charter, and the proposed transaction between Comcast and Time Warner Cable is not contingent upon the proposed transaction between Comcast and Charter.
Comcast, Charter and their respective directors and certain of their respective executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction between Comcast and Charter. Information about the directors and executive officers of Comcast is set forth in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, which was filed with the SEC on February 12, 2014, and its proxy statement for its 2014 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 11, 2014. Information about the directors and executive officers of Charter is set forth in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, which was filed with the SEC on February 21, 2014, and its proxy statement for its 2014 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 27, 2014, and its Current Report on Form 8-K, which was filed with the SEC on May 9, 2014. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Additional information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus of Charter when it becomes available.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This communication includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), regarding, among other things, our plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the factors described under “Risk Factors” from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this presentation may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “should”, “planned”, “will”, “may”, “intend”, “estimated”, “aim”, “on track”, “target”, “opportunity”, “tentative”, “positioning”, “designed”, “create”, “predict”, “project”, “seek”, “would”, “could”, “continue”, “ongoing”, “upside”, “increases” and “potential”, among others. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this presentation are set forth in other reports or documents that we file from time to time with the SEC, and include, but are not limited to:
Risks Related to Comcast Corporation ("Comcast") Transactions
• | the ultimate outcome of the proposed transactions between Charter and Comcast including the possibility that such transactions may not occur if closing conditions are not satisfied; |
• | if any such transaction were to occur, the ultimate outcome and results of integrating operations and application of our operating strategies to the acquired assets and the ultimate ability to realize synergies at the levels currently expected as well as potential programming dis-synergies; |
• | the impact of the proposed transaction on our stock price and future operating results, including due to transaction and integration costs, increased interest expense, business disruption, and diversion of management time and attention; |
• | the reduction in our current stockholders’ percentage ownership and voting interest as a result of the proposed transaction; |
• | the increase in indebtedness as a result of the proposed transactions, which will increase interest expense and may decrease our operating flexibility; |
Risks Related to Our Business
• | our ability to sustain and grow revenues and cash flow from operations by offering video, Internet, voice, advertising and other services to residential and commercial customers, to adequately meet the customer experience demands in our markets and to maintain and grow our customer base, particularly in the face of increasingly aggressive competition, the need for innovation and the related capital expenditures and the difficult economic conditions in the United States; |
• | the impact of competition from other market participants, including but not limited to incumbent telephone companies, direct broadcast satellite operators, wireless broadband and telephone providers, digital subscriber line (“DSL”) providers, and video provided over the Internet; |
• | general business conditions, economic uncertainty or downturn, high unemployment levels and the level of activity in the housing sector; |
• | our ability to obtain programming at reasonable prices or to raise prices to offset, in whole or in part, the effects of higher programming costs (including retransmission consents); |
• | the development and deployment of new products and technologies, including in connection with our plan to make our systems all-digital in 2014; |
• | the effects of governmental regulation on our business or potential business combination transactions; |
• | the availability and access, in general, of funds to meet our debt obligations prior to or when they become due and to fund our operations and necessary capital expenditures, either through (i) cash on hand, (ii) free cash flow, or (iii) access to the capital or credit markets; |
• | our ability to comply with all covenants in our indentures and credit facilities, any violation of which, if not cured in a |
timely manner, could trigger a default of our other obligations under cross-default provisions.
All forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. We are under no duty or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release.