As expected, Comcast Corp. will acquire Susquehanna Communications, the cable systems arm of Susquehanna Media Co., for about $775 million.
The deal is part of a larger sale of Susquehanna Media’s 33 radio stations to a group led by Cumulus Media Inc. for about $1.2 billion.
Comcast -- which already owns a 30% stake in the cable operations -- had been the front-runner to buy SusCom’s 225,000 subscribers in Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, and Mississippi since Susquehanna Media parent Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff Co. put the division on the block in April.
The sale was part of an overall plan by Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff to divest of its operations. It sold its Pfaltzgraff dinnerware operations in July to Lifetime Brands Inc.
In a press release, Comcast said that after certain tax considerations, its net cash investment in SusCom will be $440 million-$540 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2006.
UBS Investment Bank acted as exclusive financial advisor to Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff and The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Comcast.
