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) said on August 20 from Stamford, Connecticut that it has completed its previously announced transaction with Cox and, concurrently, its acquisition of Liberty Broadband, per the Charter newsroom release. This is the close of a deal announced in May 2025, not a fresh headline: the $34.5 billion price was set more than a year ago, and what printed on August 20 is the closing and the ownership math that comes with it. Forbes and the Los Angeles Times covered the close. The instrument is a completed stock-and-cash acquisition of Cox stacked on a concurrent all-stock Liberty Broadband merger, and the number that matters for holders is not the $34.5 billion sticker but the roughly 26% of the combined company that Cox Enterprises now owns.

The instrument: stock, cash and a 6.875% convertible

The consideration to a Cox Enterprises subsidiary came in three parts, and they price differently. 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.

The number under the headline: Cox at about 26%, measured June 30

The ownership figure is the one to model, and Charter is precise about how it is calculated. 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. That is a stake computed on a specific share count and after the convertibles are counted, not a loose round number, and it is the denominator that reprices for any CHTR holder the morning after the close.

The Liberty Broadband leg that closed the same day

The Liberty piece is a separate mechanism that settled concurrently. 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.

Brand, customers and the "biggest cable" framing

For customers, the operational date is mid-September, when Spectrum plans to launch its full brand, pricing and packaging across all Cox markets. Cox internet customers who do not already have Cox Mobile get a free mobile line for one year. On identity, 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. Governance shifts too: 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. On the size claim, 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, so the market did not treat the completion as a fresh catalyst.

The takeaway

CHTR holders should model Cox Enterprises at about 26% fully diluted after the August 20 close, computed on the June 30, 2026 share count and after the 6.875% convertible is counted, and treat Spectrum's packaging in Cox markets as a mid-September operational date rather than a same-day switch. This is a completed transaction with roughly $12 billion of Cox debt riding along at Charter subsidiaries, not the still-pending May 2025 announcement, so the $34.5 billion figure is history and the ownership split, the assumed leverage and the September brand launch are the lines that actually move from here.