Incoming Time Warner Cable CEO, Rob Marcus, slammed a Bloomberg report that made it look like he was ready to sell the company.
Speaking at the annual UBS media conference Marcus laid out his vision for the future of Time Warner Cable, even as potential bidders appear to be closing in.
Comcast hired JPMorgan for a possible bid for at least parts of the New York-based cable system, according to a Reuters report on Monday morning.
Meanwhile Charter, backed by Liberty Media’s John Malone is raising money to mount a competing bid. Charter’s CEO Tom Rutledge is set to speak later Monday at the same conference.
Marcus said that his comments in a Bloomberg interview published Thursday were “taken out of context,” and “had the net effect of misleading readers and leading them to believe things were said that actually weren’t.” The
tory carried a comment from an un-named executive that set a preferred price tag for the firm at an eye popping $150 to $160 per share.
Time Warner Cable’s stock shot up a dollar in mid-morning trading to $132 a share at the outset of Marcus’ presentation at 10 a.m., falling back to $130 as it ended.
“My job as CEO is to maximize value for shareholders and there’s no way I would let any personal ambition or any personal agenda get in the way of making the right decision for shareholders,” said Marcus who has waited years to take over as CEO.
“Whether or not Time Warner Cable will participate in M&A, whether as a buyer or seller is 100 percent driven by what’s in the best interests of shareholders,” he added.
The executive, who takes over from Glenn Britt at the next month told investors: “Our management team is completely focused on running Time Warner Cable for the long haul. We’re confident we can execute on those opportunities to generate great experience for our customers.”
Moving to other topics, Marcus said Time Warner Cable will launch the new Dodgers channel in February, even though its distribution deals will not be complete. He said the already launched Lakers channel had been a good way to keep the cost of sports rights in check, though he added that the Lakers hadn’t had a great season this year.
On the topic of cord cutting, Marcus said that online viewing simply created a more compelling reason for customers to buy the company’s broadband products.
“We view over the top as a killer app that highlights the value of our broadband offering, usage has increased 40% year on year,” said Marcus.
Marcus declined to comment on progress with Viacom on talks to renew it’s that programmers carriage deals on Time Warner Systems.