Charter Communications confirmed it plans to acquire Time Warner Cable, a deal that if approved would create the second-biggest cable operator in the U.S.

Cable operators are under pressure from a new generation of companies such as Netflix that offer competing video services, and Charter is hoping scale will help it compete more effectively. It values the deal at $78.7 billion, which includes $23 billion in assumed debt.

Charter also plans to acquire Bright House Networks, a smaller cable company. If successful, the deals would make Charter, currently the fourth-biggest cable company in the U.S., second only to Comcast. The combined entity would serve 23.9 million customers in 41 states.

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