Comcast buys Patriot

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 20 April 2007, 19:30 IST
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NEW JERSEY: After nearly eight months of negotiations, Comcast has agreed to buy Patriot Media & Communications for $483 million or about $6,000 per subscriber, a valuation that makes the deal one of the biggest in cable history. Patriot has about 81,000 subscribers in Central New Jersey, including Princeton, Chatham and Mendham. "Patriot Media systems are fully upgraded, have superior demographics, strong penetration of advanced products and best of all, they geographically complement our systems in New Jersey," Comcast chief operating officer Steve Burke said in a statement. "We are delighted at the prospect of adding these new customers to Comcast in the near future and look forward to providing them with our advanced products and services.? The Patriot deal, expected to close in the third quarter, falls in the range of 10 to 11 times estimated 2006 cash flow. Patriot, according to cable executives who were involved in the auction process, expects to generate more than $570 in cash flow per subscriber in 2006, growing to more than $615 in annual cash flow per customer in 2007, one of the highest marks in the industry. By comparison, Comcast generates about $450 per subscriber per year in cash flow.