Cogeco Cable Logo - H 2012
Eastern U.S. cable company MetroCast on Monday said it has reached a deal to be sold to Canadian cable giant Cogeco Communications for $1.4 billion.
The sale by Pennsylvania-based parent Harron Communications continues a wave of consolidation in the U.S. cable industry as it faces competition from the Internet. MetroCast networks cover around 236,000 homes and businesses in New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia and serve about 120,000 Internet, 76,000 cable and 37,000 telephone customers.
Wall Street analysts have discussed whether cable giants Charter Communications and Comcast in May unveiling a wireless partnership would speed up a broader consolidation in the U.S. cable industry. The chatter has been spurred by the apparent business-friendly stance of the Trump administration.
The deal for MetroCast allows Cogeco, through its Atlantic Broadband subsidiary, to expand its geographical footprint south of the border from Maine to Florida. Cogeco in 2012 purchased U.S.-based Atlantic Broadband for $1.36 billion and then bought MetroCast’s network in Connecticut for $200 million in 2015 to diversify its U.S. business.
