Cablevision to Acquire Bresnan

Cablevision Systems Corporation and Bresnan Communications today announced a definitive agreement under which a newly-formed subsidiary of Cablevision will acquire Bresnan in a transaction valued at $1.365 billion.

Bresnan is the nation’s thirteenth largest MSO with cable operating systems in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah that pass more than 630,000 homes and serve more than 300,000 basic subscribers.

Cablevision President and CEO James Dolan said in a statement, “We believe the acquisition of Bresnan is an excellent opportunity to leverage Cablevision’s strong management team and build shareholder value. The Bresnan team has built an impressive cable business that performs well financially, and we look forward to working to enhance those systems further.”

Cablevision’s COO Tom Rutledge will oversee the Bresnan properties.

Cablevision expects that Bresnan will be acquired by a newly-formed, unrestricted subsidiary of Cablevision with standalone financing. The subsidiary is expected to be financed using non-recourse debt of approximately $1 billion and an equity investment by Cablevision of less than $400 million.

The completion of the transaction, which the company expects to happen in late 2010 or early 2011, is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.