Any consolidation on the scale of Friday morning’s surprise announcement by cable giants Charter Communications and Cox Enterprises that they plan to merge in a deal valued at $34.5 billion counts as rarified M&A these days.
Combining the No. 2 and No. 3 players, by revenue, in an industry is certain to raise a few eyebrows, but especially in media and entertainment, where business seems balanced precariously between ever-shifting tectonic plates.
Technology, fickle consumer preferences and a nervous Wall Street were already playing the roles of disruptors, but throw in President Donald Trump’s chaos economy, and a shift of Charter-Cox’s magnitude is likely to raise anxiety levels.