COMCAST SWOOPS IN TO ACQUIRE TIME WARNER CABLE  | Time Warner Cable has been dodging a takeover for months, but it finally accepted another suitor with a sweeter offer. Comcast on Thursday announced an agreement to acquire Time Warner Cable in an all-stock deal valued at about $45.2 billion. The merger will unite the biggest and second-biggest cable television operators in the country, David Gelles writes in DealBook. Under the terms of the deal, Time Warner Cable shareholders will receive $158.82 a share based on Comcast’s closing price on Wednesday.
The merger is likely to bring to an end a protracted takeover battle that Charter Communications has been waging for Time Warner Cable, leaving Charter Communications to wonder what might have been. As for Comcast, the Time Warner Cable deal would be its second big act to radically reshape the media landscape in the United States â€" the company completed its acquisition of NBC Universal less than a year ago. But despite combining the country’s two largest cable operators, a merger will probably have little effect on consumers. Nevertheless, the combination of the two cable operators is certain to attract antitrust scrutiny by regulators.
Mr. Gelles writes: “For Time Warner Cable, the deal provides a neat solution to its problems. It will receive just about the $160-a-share price it said was its true value, and possibly more. It will no longer have to slog ahead with a turnaround plan being run by a new chief executive, Rob Marcus. And it will allow it to become part of the company that is already the dominant force in cable television services.â€
From The Wall Street Journal: “Comcast was very uncomfortable with the idea of a proxy fight that Charter was gearing up to wage.†After Comcast initially offered about $150 a share for Time Warner last week, Brian Roberts, the chairman and chief executive of Comcast, negotiated with top Time Warner Cable brass on the phone from Sochi, Russia, where Mr. Roberts was taking in the Winter Olympics.
FORMER TOP S.E.C. ENFORCER SWITCHES SIDES  | George Canellos, the former co-chief of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, announced on Wednesday he would be returning to the law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, where he was a partner before joining the S.E.C. in 2009, as a partner and global head of the firm’s litigation department.
With the move, Mr. Canellos becomes the latest Wall Street regulator to switch sides, Ben Protess writes in DealBook, adding, “The job-hopping illustrates the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington, one that critics complain blurs the line between defense and prosecution.â€
BANKING GROUP DROPS SUIT AGAINST VOLCKER RULE  | The American Bankers Association backed down on Wednesday, announcing that it was dropping its lawsuit to block part of the Volcker Rule from going into effect. But the move wasn’t surprising given that the five regulatory agencies responsible for carrying out the Volcker Rule modified in January what the group had found most objectionable, Rachel Abrams writes in DealBook.
Under the original terms, community banks would have been forced to rid themselves of collateralized debt obligations backed by so-called trust-preferred securities. The new terms permit the banks to hold onto these C.D.O.’s under certain conditions. And while the association said in a statement that it was “imperative†that regulators address banks’ remaining concerns with the Volcker Rule, Frank Keating, the group’s chief executive, said that the interim rule “has helped to minimize the cost and compliance burden for those that are affected.â€
ON THE AGENDA  | Janet L. Yellen’s scheduled testimony on monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee has been postponed due to weather. Weekly jobless claims are out at 8:30 a.m. January retail sales are released at 8:30 a.m. The business inventories report for December is out at 10 a.m. American International Group releases earnings after the market closes. Brian Roberts, the chairman and chief executive of Comcast, and Rob Marcus, the chief executive of Time Warner Cable, are on CNBC at 7 a.m. Robert H. Benmosche, the chief executive of the American International Group, is on CNBC at 4:30 p.m. and Bloomberg TV at 5:30 p.m. Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, is on Bloomberg TV at 4 p.m. Steve Forbes, the chairman of Forbes Media, is on Bloomberg TV at 4:10 p.m. Dean Gemmell, a United States national curling champion, ison CNBC at 4 p.m.
SENATE RAISES DEBT CEILING AS REPUBLICANS SURRENDER  | Senate Republicans did their best to provide a last bit of drama, but raise the nation’s borrowing limit they did, sending the legislation to President Obama to be signed once and for all. In a last ditch attempt to stall the vote, Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas demanded a 60-vote threshold on the debt increase, sending Republicans scrambling to muster at least five votes in support of ending debate on the debt ceiling measure before a snowstorm pummeled the area. The Senate voted 67 to 31 to break the filibuster, with 12 Republicans joining all 55 Democrats on the most critical vote of the day.
Once Republican leaders decided to end the debate, the Senate quickly voted to raise the debt ceiling, 55-to-43, ending three years of brinkmanship. But lest the measure’s passage provide a semblance of unity, Republicans quickly turned on each other. Some conservatives were furious at what they saw as an abdication of fiscal responsibility, and began calling for the resignation of top congressional Republicans.
Other conservatives blamed the House, which had passed the measure on Tuesday, Politico reports. “The problem was we had this all of a sudden come from the House. I’m one that really felt like the House would attach something to it,†Senator John Boozman, Republican of Arkansas, said. “It really did make it difficult.â€
WINTER STRIKES AGAIN Â |Â Another major storm battered the South on Wednesday, bringing ice and snow that knocked out power and left motorists stranded on roads for hours. And the nasty weather is not over. In New York City, the snow will switch to sleet, rain and wind, making for lousy road conditions and general ugliness.
DealBook »
DealBook »
Buffett Looks to Exit Stake in Former Washington Post Owner  | Warren E. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is looking to swap its stake in Graham Holdings for control of a subsidiary of the company formed by the Graham family after it sold The Washington Post to Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon, The Financial Times reports. The transaction would unwind Mr. Buffett’s ties to one of his oldest holdings.
FINANCIAL TIMES
DealBook »
Google Tops List of Deal-Making Technology Companies  | Bloomberg News has compiled a list of technology’s top 10 deal makers in the last three years, with Google leading the pack.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Online Ranking Provider Purchased for $100 Million  | Klout, a start-up that ranks a person’s online influence, is said to have been acquired by Lithium Technologies for $100 million, The Verge reports.
THE VERGE
Earnings Improve at Lloyds Despite Steep Provisions  | In 2013, Lloyds returned to a statutory profit before tax of £415 million, an important measure for the lender. The bank, which last posted a statutory profit in 2010, also raised its bonus pool by 8 percent.
DealBook »
BNP Paribas Profit Falls On U.S. Sanctions Troubles  | The Paris bank’s fourth-quarter profit fell 76 percent to 127 million euros, or $173 million. It reported a $1.1 billion provision related to “dollar payments involving parties subject to U.S. economic sanctions.â€
DealBook »
Moody’s Places R.B.S. on Review For Downgrade  | The credit rating agency said it placed the Royal Bank of Scotland on review after the British lender said it would set aside nearly 3 billion pounds, or about $5 billion, to cover potential litigation claims.
DealBook »
DealBook » | DealBook: Evaluating the Dearth of Female Hedge Fund Managers  | The Tech Start-Up: Leaning In Can Be Uncomfortable
7 Banks Face New Claims of Foreign Exchange Manipulation  | Seven banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Barclays, are facing new claims of foreign exchange manipulation filed by the City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement, The Financial Times reports. The class-action lawsuit is the first in the United States to include analysis of daily trading.
FINANCIAL TIMES
Weill Hoping for Big Sale of Former Maids Quarters  | Sandford I. Weill, the former head of Citigroup, is selling his former maids quarters at 15 Central Park West for six times what he paid for it, The New York Daily News reports. Mr. Weill sold his penthouse in the same building for $88 million, the highest individual transaction in New York City’s history.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
DealBook »
Hellman & Friedman Rejects Bids For Kronos  | The private equity firm Hellman & Friedman has rejected bids that valued Kronos, a human resources software company, at more than $4.5 billion, Reuters reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. The move would have been one of the largest technology leveraged buyouts in the last 12 months, but its future is now uncertain.
REUTERS
5 Private Equity Firms Weighing Bids for Telesat  | Five private equity firms including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, Apax Partners and Onex, a Canadian firm, are considering bids for Telesat Holdings, a Canadian satellite company, Bloomberg News reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Harvard’s Private Equity Head Calls It Quits  | Lane MacDonald is leaving Harvard Management Company, which manages Harvard’s $33 billion endowment, just four months after being put in charge of private equity investments, Fortune reports. The endowment manager is now seeking its third private equity head in less than a year.
FORTUNE
Green Fund in Doubt After Firing of Terra Firma Deal Maker  | The decision to fire Damian Darragh, one of the private equity firm Terra Firma’s star deal makers, has left investors questioning the firm’s ability to continue raising a $2 billion green energy fund, The Financial Times writes.
FINANCIAL TIMES
DealBook »
DealBook »
MagicJack Options Trade Raises Questions  | A trader purchased options on MagicJack VocalTec stock last month, days before the hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson praised the stock, sending its price soaring this week. The options purchase is now poised to result in more than a twofold gain for the trader, raising questions about whether possible market manipulation occurred, The Wall Street Journal writes.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Venture Capital-Backed I.P.O.’s Make a Comeback  | A bull market and a backlog of candidates for initial public offerings are two factors that are driving private companies to go public again, Fortune writes.
FORTUNE
Wayfair Said to Be Exploring I.P.O. Â |Â Wayfair, an online home goods retailer based in Boston, is said to have reached out to banks about managing an initial public offering, Bloomberg News writes, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Disney Plays Host for Digital Start-Ups  | In an effort to find new paths for digital growth, the Walt Disney Company announced on Wednesday that it plans to partner with the technology accelerator TechStars to advise and encourage 10 start-ups, Brooks Barnes writes in The New York Times.
NEW YORK TIMES
IBM’s Watson Fund Invests in Welltok  | IBM’s $100 million venture capital fund has invested in Welltok, a company based in Denver that is working on applications that help consumers manage their health, ReCode reports. IBM’s fund is aimed at bolstering third-party use of its Watson cognitive computing platform.
RECODE
The Downside to Two of Venture Capital’s Senior Women Starting New Firm  | Jennifer Fonstad, formerly a partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Theresia Gouw, formerly a partner at Accel, are opening Aspect Ventures, but their departures leave their former companies with no female investment partners in their Silicon Valley offices, The Huffington Post writes.
HUFFINGTON POST
Banks Left Guessing on Volcker Rule  | The world’s biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Barclays and Credit Suisse, could be left scrambling to meet a key reporting date for the Volcker Rule because United States regulators have not yet decided what metrics they must disclose, The Financial Times reports, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
FINANCIAL TIMES
Conflict in Oil Industry, Awash in Crude  | The debate between oil producers and refiners over exports is a rare clash in a deeply guarded industry that involves arguments over national security, pricing at the pump and earnings, The New York Times writes.
NEW YORK TIMES
Regulator Sees Need to Slowing Growth of Mortgage Servicers  | Benjamin M. Lawsky, New York State’s top financial regulator, said the “explosive growth†in nonbank mortgage servicers should be halted “before more homeowners get hurt,†Bloomberg News writes.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
Fed to Revise Capital Rules for Foreign Banks  | The Federal Reserve plans to ease the rules for determining the number of foreign banks that will have to consolidate their American operations and hold more capital, Bloomberg News reports.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
