Deals
Did the Dolans Just Call the End of Cable With Cablevision Sale?
- Dolans sold Cablevision after building it for 37 years
- `A bit unsettling' that they decided it's time to exit cable
Why Altice Is Buying Cablevision
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Charles and James Dolan spent 37 years building Cablevision Systems Corp. into a telecommunications and media powerhouse. Over the last five, they have systematically dismantled it. If and when the $17.7 billion sale to Altice SA, announced Thursday, goes through, they will officially be out of the business of providing cable to customers.
The deal will be lucrative for the Dolans, who control about 72 percent of Cablevision’s votes, and for their investors, who will get $34.90 a share, almost double the company’s share price less than six months ago. It also suggests the Dolans think that the best days of cable are behind them.