Charter and Bright House Pursuing Merger Even After Comcast’s Failed Deal

Charter Communications is going ahead with its $10.4 billion deal for Bright House Networks, signaling the start of a new push to consolidate the country’s cable operators.

The transaction was previously agreed to in conjunction with Comcast’s proposed takeover of Time Warner Cable, but was contingent on that deal’s completion. After that deal fell apart, Charter and Bright House had an exclusive 30-day negotiating period, which was set to expire this week. The two companies are committed to completing the transaction on the same economic and governance terms as the original agreement, which was announced in March. The companies said they had extended a “good faith negotiating period” for an additional 30 days, which keeps Charter’s options open for longer. The deal is not yet signed, and either party could walk away.