Report: Charter mulling Time Warner deal

Charter Communications Inc., which completed its acquisition of Cablevision’s Optimum West unit earlier this week, is said to be involved in merger talks between media mogul John C. Malone and Time Warner Cable.

Malone, the chairman of Liberty Media, is reportedly weighing an acquisition of Time Warner, the country’s second-largest cable company behind Comcast Corp.

As part of the deal that is reportedly being considered, Charter Communications – which is based in Stamford and counts Malone’s Liberty Media as a major shareholder – would buy Time Warner in a bid to challenge Comcast. Liberty Media acquired a 27 percent stake in Charter Communications from a group of private equity funds in March.

Charter Communications moved its headquarters to Stamford from St. Louis earlier this year and is a participant in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s “Next Five” program, through which companies that pledge to create at least 200 new jobs in Connecticut are eligible for incentives and tax credits.

Reports cautioned that discussions over any proposed merger are still in the very early stages. A merger with Time Warner would give Charter Communications about 15 million television subscribers, making it the second-largest cable company and the third largest TV provider, behind Comcast and DirecTV L.L.C.