Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Harbinger Capital Partners, the hedge fund that placed directors on the board of New York Times Co., said it is looking at all options for Cablevision Systems Corp. after raising its stake in the company to 8.1 percent.

Harbinger hopes to meet with management at the New York- area cable-television company ``in the very near future,'' Charles Zehren, a spokesman for Harbinger, said in an e-mailed statement today. Harbinger, a New York-based hedge fund led by Philip Falcone, reported owning 19 million shares in a regulatory filing yesterday, up from 11.5 million as of June 30.

Harbinger may seek asset sales after Cablevision said earlier this month it would consider getting rid of units that include Madison Square Garden and the Rainbow Media television networks, said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York. Cablevision has held meetings with Mario Gabelli's Gamco Investors Inc. and other top shareholders, and declared a quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share last week.

``Cablevision's assets are still worth dramatically more than the equity value,'' said Moffett, who has an ``outperform'' rating on the shares and doesn't own any. ``There's room for an activist like Harbinger to try to close that gap. The end game is likely to include selling certain assets.''

Cablevision, up 32 percent this year, advanced 4 cents to $32.40 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Moffett said his sum-of-the-parts estimate values Cablevision at more than $45 a share.

Proxy

Harbinger, the largest investor in New York Times, ended a proxy campaign in March after the newspaper publisher agreed to add its nominees to the board. Harbinger has also sought changes at Media General Inc., including the sale of assets such as the Tampa Tribune. In April, the company elected three outside directors nominated by Harbinger.

Gabelli, the third-biggest institutional investor in Cablevision, has threatened a proxy contest for the nine board seats not controlled by the founding Dolan family if management doesn't act to boost the stock. The Dolans would still control Cablevision because they hold Class B shares that give them 74 percent of the vote on most issues.

``If it's shaping up to be a proxy fight, it would be an unusual one,'' Moffett said. ``Cablevision's voting control remains rock solid.''

Gabelli wants Cablevision to sell Rainbow Media, spin off Madison Square Garden and explore a sale of its cable systems to Time Warner Cable Inc., he said in an Aug. 7 interview. Gamco owned 8.5 percent of Bethpage, New York-based Cablevision's Class A shares as of June 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Investors rejected a $36.26-a-share buyout offer from Chairman Charles Dolan and his son, Chief Executive Officer James Dolan, last October. That bid was the family's fourth attempt to take the company private.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gillian Wee in New York at gwee3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 22, 2008 16:20 EDT