The merger would bring Comcast one of the most technologically sophisticated cable networks in the country. It would also have more say in the creation of news and entertainment programming for cable systems. Lillis, so hoarse with laryngitis that he could barely speak, said now was the time to merge because cable companies simply need size. Neither of us would have been able to do as well as we would together. . . . Mass simply makes a difference.
Scale makes a difference.
Comcast would pay 1.1 special Class A shares for each share of MediaOne. MediaOne cannot solicit a counter bid. MediaOne was spun off from US West, one of the regional Baby Bells, as a separate company last June, a move that made it vulnerable to takeover. Many cable companies, including Comcast, are controlled by families, not shareholders. Before being purchased by US West, MediaOne was called Continental Cablevision and had its headquarters in Boston.