For Charter Communications Chief, Time Warner Cable Is a Long-Sought Prize

Thomas M. Rutledge declared victory when Charter struck a $56.7 billion deal to acquire its much larger rival Time Warner Cable. From a corporate takeover standpoint, Charter had publicly battled for control of Time Warner Cable for the last two years. For Rutledge, Charter’s chief executive, it was the conclusion of a personal quest that goes back more than a decade.

A cable industry veteran, Rutledge had been passed over for the chief executive job at Time Warner Cable in 2001. Years later, Rutledge tried to orchestrate an acquisition of Time Warner Cable when he was working as chief operating officer of Cablevision, the New York cable company. “People think that idea came to me from other people,” Rutledge said about the latest deal, alluding to news articles about the behind-the-scenes influence of John C. Malone, the billionaire media executive who is the primary backer of Charter. “But it is actually something that I have been pursuing for a long time.” Rutledge now appears to have captured his prize and stands to become one of the most powerful people in the Internet and television industries.