Cogeco Cable Logo - H 2012
TORONTO – Cogeco Cable Inc. is making a rare foray by a Canadian cable giant into the U.S. market by paying $1.36 billion for privately-held Atlantic Broadband.
The takeover follows the Montreal-based media group selling Portugal’s second largest cablecaster, Cabovisão – Televisão por Cabo SA, for $59 million after paying $656 million back in 2006, ahead of the European recession.
Atlantic, the 14th largest cable group in the U.S. market, was sold by Abry Partners IV, L.P. and Oak Hill Capital Partners.
“There are sizable opportunities for growth including: increasing the penetration of the small and mid-sized business segment, and maximizing the bundling potential of services in the residential sector,” Louis Audet, president and CEO of Cogeco Cable, said after entering the U.S. market with the Atlantic takeover.
Atlantic, based near Boston, is near to the Ontario and Quebec market in which Cogeco operates north of the Canadian-U.S. border.
