Comcast Stock Drop Complicates TWC Deal

Comcast’s deal to buy Time Warner Cable has run into an unexpected source of turbulence: a weak stock price.

In the nearly seven weeks since the deal was announced, Comcast's share price has dropped nearly 10%, reducing the value of its all-stock offer for Time Warner Cable to $143.55 a share from $158.82 per share when it was announced. Time Warner Cable shares, meanwhile, have followed Comcast's stock down and closed April 1 at $137.55 apiece, only a few dollars above where TWC stock was trading before the companies announced the deal on Feb. 13. TWC's stock is trading about 4% lower than the current value of Comcast's offer, in part due to uncertainty about whether regulators will approve the deal. A continued decline in Comcast's stock could pose problems for the company when TWC shareholders come to vote on the deal, which is expected in the summer, investors and analysts say.

Investors and analysts say the drop may have created an opening for TWC's erstwhile suitor, Charter Communications, to come back with a new offer.