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Now that former Charter Communications Inc. chairman Jerry Kent has pulled the cover off his new cable and telecom investment vehicle, the question on many minds is: What will he buy?
Kent, who resigned from Charter four months ago, last week announced the formation of CEQUEL III, his new invest- ment fund. Joining Kent at CEQUEL are Charter co-founder Howard Wood and Daniel Bergstein, a partner in the New York law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.
With access to about $6 billion in funding - enough to buy 1.3 million to 1.7 million subscribers at current prices - CEQUEL could become a major in- dustry player in a relatively short period of time. But even Kent concedes that it's unlikely to make a big impact right off the bat.
CEQUEL would be interested in any non-strategic systems that may be shed as part of the pending merger of AT&T Broadband and Comcast Corp., as well as Adelphia Communications Corp. systems that are on the block, Kent added.
"We're certainly interested in buying cable operators in metro to second- and third-tier markets," Kent said. "Obviously, in the metro markets, there is not going to be much available because most of those are in the hands of companies that aren't going to move them.
"I think, by definition, you're looking at more second-tier type markets."
While cable will be an important part of CEQUEL's strategy, it won't be the only one, Kent...