Charter, Comcast Names Spin-off Co. As GreatLand Connections

(RTTNews) - Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) and Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) Wednesday said the new cable company to be spun off from Comcast will be known as GreatLand Connections Inc.

"We are pleased to publicly announce the name of this exciting new company we are building," said Michael Willner, President and Chief Executive Officer of GreatLand Connections.

In May, the companies had announced the appointment of cable industry veteran Michael Willner as CEO of the new cable company. Time Warner Cable SVP and Treasurer Matthew Siegel was also appointed as Chief Financial Officer of GreatLand Connections.

The spin-off company is a part of three-part agreement between Charter and Comcast to ensure a smooth approval process for the $45-billion Comcast-Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) merger.

As part of the three-part deal, Charter will acquire about 1.4 million existing subscribers of Time Warner Cable. Charter will also form a holding company that will own about 33 percent stake in the spinoff company. The company will serve about 2.5 million customers. Also, Comcast and Charter will each trade 1.6 million customers. The three separate deals are subject to the completion of the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger.

The spinoff company will also have a nine-member board of directors, three directors will be appointed by Charter, while Comcast will appoint three of the remaining six members and will select three more from a list provided by Charter. Charter CEO Tom Rutledge, will serve as the non-executive Chairman.

CHTR is currently trading at $158.70, up $0.30 or 0.19%, on the Nasdaq.

CMCSA is currently trading at $54.80, up $0.02 or 0.04%, on the Nasdaq.