New Yorkers are going to need more popcorn.
Less than 24 hours after having its first public takeover offer rejected by Time Warner Cable brass, Charter Communications blasted the Manhattan cable company, saying it has skimped on technology investment for years and sells its customers shoddy goods at high prices.
New Yorkers with digital TV sets are still receiving, in some instances, analog signals and suffer from painfully slow Internet speeds, Charter CEO Tom Rutledge charged in an investor call Tuesday.
Current and former TWC executives mismanaged the company for years, Rutledge claims.
TWC, the country’s No. 2 cable TV provider with 12 million subscribers, rejected Charter’s $132.50-per-share offer Monday, calling it “grossly inadequate.”
Investors, either anticipating or hoping for a higher offer — from Charter or, perhaps, Comcast, the No. 1 cable company — quickly bid up TWC shares to $136.00 at the close Tuesday, a 2.7 percent increase.
Cable mogul John Malone, who controls Charter, the No. 4 cable company, with 6.8 million subscribers, has long championed sector consolidation and is seen by Wall Street as dogged in his pursuit of TWC.
While many expect Malone to slowly and steadily close in on TWC, few, perhaps, could have expected his battle to get so bitter and personal so quickly.
Rutledge did not increase the offer — instead saying, and displaying charts that he said were proof, that TWC’s inflated stock price was the result of Charter’s interest.
John Bickham, Charter’s COO and a former TWC executive, said the Manhattan-based cable company screwed up 10 years of restructuring.
“Management never had a real vision of what the national organization should look like. … How did they go from best to worst?” he asked.
Rutledge’s attack is aimed at TWC shareholders, hoping they pressure the board to change its mind.
A survey from Macquarie analyst Amy Yong suggested that while few shareholders would accept the current Charter offer, most — about 97 percent — believe selling the company to the highest bidder is better than going it alone.
Charter also aimed its mighty PR guns at TWC subscribers — saying a Charter-run Big Apple cable company would offer better service and lower prices.
TWC, in a statement, said, “There was nothing in Charter’s presentation and call today that changes the fact that its proposal is grossly inadequate. We have engaged with Charter, but Charter is not prepared to pay for a one-of-a-kind asset that Tom Rutledge referred to today as the biggest and best M&A option available. We are confident in our stand-alone plan, and we are not going to let Charter steal the company.”