Comcast, TW Cable Set October Shareholder Votes

Comcast and Time Warner Cable have set October dates for their respective shareholder votes on the blockbuster $45.2 billion union of the nation’s largest cable operators.

Comcast will hold its shareholder vote on Oct. 8 at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. TW Cable will take the vote the following day at New York’s Paley Center for Media. Shareholders will vote on the merger proposal as well as on the deal’s provisions for paying hefty golden-parachute compensation to TW Cable CEO Rob Marcus and other corporate officers who will be exiting as a result of the sale. Marcus’ pending $80 million payoff has sparked outrage among corporate watchdog organizations as an example of over-the-top largesse for an executive who only took the reins as CEO in January. But the SEC filings make clear that the shareholder votes on the golden parachutes are most symbolic, because the non-binding nature of the vote means that the Comcast and TW Cable boards can bestow the mega-million-dollar packages on execs with or without shareholder consent.