Charter closed its $34.5B Cox deal and the Liberty Broadband merger, handing Cox Enterprises about 26% of the combined company

Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) completed its Cox acquisition and a concurrent Liberty Broadband merger on August 20 in Stamford, Connecticut, according to the Charter newsroom release. The $34.5 billion price was set when the deal was announced in May 2025. Forbes and the Los Angeles Times covered the close. The number that matters for holders is not the sticker but the roughly 26% of the combined company that Cox Enterprises now owns.

The consideration to a Cox Enterprises subsidiary came in three parts. First, about 33.6 million common units in Charter's existing Charter Holdings partnership, with an implied value of roughly $5 billion, exchangeable for Charter common shares. Second, $6 billion of convertible preferred units of Charter Holdings carrying a 6.875% coupon, convertible into 12.6 million common units. Third, about $4 billion in cash. In aggregate, Charter says it issued the equivalent of just over 46 million Charter shares to the Cox Enterprises subsidiary. On top of the equity, roughly $12 billion of Cox debt and finance leases stays outstanding at Charter subsidiaries, so the combined balance sheet absorbs the leverage rather than retiring it at close.

Based on Charter's share count as of June 30, 2026, and giving effect to both the Liberty Broadband merger and the Cox transaction, Cox Enterprises and its subsidiaries now own approximately 26% of the combined entity's fully diluted shares outstanding, on an as-converted, as-exchanged basis.

Each holder of Liberty Broadband common stock received 0.236 of a Charter share per Liberty share, with cash in lieu of fractions. Charter retired the Charter shares Liberty owned and issued about 33.9 million new shares to Liberty holders, for a net decrease of roughly 4.7 million Charter shares outstanding, so this leg was share-count accretive rather than dilutive. Charter also assumed about $840 million of Liberty Broadband net debt to be repaid shortly after closing, plus $180 million of preferred equity that converted into Charter preferred. At close, Liberty Broadband ceased to be a direct Charter shareholder.

For customers, Spectrum plans to launch its full brand, pricing and packaging across all Cox markets in mid-September. Cox internet customers who do not already have Cox Mobile get a free mobile line for one year. Within a year the parent company name changes to Cox Communications, while the consumer brand stays Spectrum. The company remains headquartered in Stamford with a significant Atlanta presence.

Alex Taylor is chairman of Charter's board, Eric Zinterhofer is lead independent director, Chris Winfrey continues as president and CEO, and Dallas Clement and Mark Greatrex join the 13-member board. Forbes calls the result a "cable giant" and Quartz reached for "biggest U.S. cable giant," but Charter's own language is narrower: it describes itself as the leading broadband and video company and the fastest-growing mobile provider in its footprint, with Spectrum spanning 45 states. Barron's noted the stock sank on the close.