Washington Post May Buy AT&T; Cable Assets

WASHINGTON — Washington Post Co., owner of the namesake newspaper and rural cable-television systems, said it may be interested in buying cable assets from AT&T; Corp. and Adelphia Communications Corp.

The company has subscribers in Iowa, Idaho and other states where Adelphia or AT&T; may sell cable systems, Tom Might, chief executive of Washington Post’s Cable One unit, said in an interview. Cable One is the ninth-biggest U.S. cable company.

AT&T; and Adelphia, the No. 1 and No. 6 cable operators, respectively, said this month that to pay off debt they may sell systems in areas where they lack many customers. Those systems may be worth as much as $8.51 billion, an analyst said. Rivals Insight Communications Co. and Mediacom Communications Corp. have also said they would consider buying networks from AT&T.;

“There is no scarcity of buyers,” said Rob Routh, cable analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. “It’s just a question of valuation, and what form, cash or stock.”

Washington Post would prefer to pay cash for any potential acquisition, Might said. AT&T; has said it may consider selling cable systems with 1.5 million customers, while Adelphia said it may sell properties with about 935,000 customers. Those assets are worth an average of $3,000 to $3,500 a customer, or $7.29 billion to $8.51 billion, Routh estimated.

Might wouldn’t comment on whether Washington Post has offered to buy assets from AT&T;, which he said solicited bids last month. The Washington-based company hasn’t bid for cable systems of Coudersport, Pa.-based Adelphia, Might said.

Shaw Communications Inc., Canada’s No. 2 cable company, might also be interested in acquiring some AT&T; properties, Routh said. Officials at the Calgary, Alberta-based company weren’t available to comment.

AT&T; shares, which have fallen 67% this year, fell 12 cents to close at $16.94. Washington Post, which has gained 12% this year, rose $1.75 to $620.75. Adelphia rose $2.50 to $51.19, Insight rose 63 cents to $22.63 and Middletown, N.Y.-based Mediacom rose 13 cents to $17.06. Shaw Class B shares rose 50 cents to $22.50.

Adelphia and Insight, based in New York along with AT&T;, couldn’t be reached for comment. AT&T; spokesman Steve Lang and Mediacom Chief Financial Officer Mark Stephan declined to comment.