Comcast said Tuesday that it has struck an agreement with vice chairman and chief financial officer Michael Angelakis to form a new, strategic company that will focus on investing in and operating growth-oriented companies, both domestically and internationally.
Angelakis will serve as CEO of the new company, “with a mandate and the resources to pursue new areas of growth and diversification for Comcast,” the company said.
The new company will have total capital commitments of up to $4.1 billion, of which $4.0 billion will be invested by Comcast, at least $40 million will be invested personally by Mr. Angelakis, with the remainder coming from other senior members of the new company’s management team. This new company will have an exclusive, 10-year partnership with Comcast as sole outside investor.
Comcast said it will immediately start a search for a successor CFO. Once a new CFO is hired, Angelakis will serve as a senior advisor to Comcast, and will assist with the transition to the new CFO and begin the integration process for the proposed merger with Time Warner Cable and related transactions.
“This is a time of tremendous change and opportunity in our core technology and media industries, as well as in adjacent business areas,” Brian Roberts, Comcast’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement “We believe the ability to establish entrepreneurial ventures that partner with and participate in the growth of innovative companies can be an important driver of strategic and financial value creation for our company.
“As Comcast approaches the completion of the Time Warner Cable merger and related transactions, and the integration plans are well advanced, Michael is ready and excited to turn his attention to the next phase of his career and relationship with Comcast,” Roberts added.
“As we enter the final phase of the Time Warner Cable transaction, this is a great time to begin a transition and I am excited to start this new, entrepreneurial company,” Angelakis said, in a statement. “Our industry is dynamic and I am very excited and optimistic about the many opportunities available to Comcast. Comcast is a remarkably well-positioned company and it has been an honor to serve as the Company's Vice Chairman and CFO. I look forward to closing the Time Warner Cable and related transactions and commencing the integration process. As part of our new company, I am very pleased to continue the partnership with my current colleagues and to contribute to Comcast’s future growth and success."
Angelakis is also the Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and is a Trustee of Babson College. Before joining Comcast, he was a managing director and member of the Investment and Management Committees at Providence Equity Partners. Before that, Angelakis was president and CEO of State Cable TV Corporation and Aurora Telecommunications.
