Update: Bresnan Auction Underway, Guided By UBS and Credit Suisse

By MCN Staff -- Multichannel News, 3/22/2010 10:41:13 AM

On March 1, The Wire informed the world that Bresnan Communications’ principal backer had been exploring possible interest in buying its majority stake in the 320,000-customer cable operation. Here’s an update: Detailed “books” on the systems are expected to go out to interested parties shortly.

Providence Equity Partners began meeting with bankers concerning its options regarding the Bresnan systems, in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, earlier this month.

According to sources familiar with the process, Providence has picked Credit Suisse and UBS as its lead bankers in what is now considered an auction. Those same sources said that CS and UBS could provide up to $1 billion in staple financing (about 6 times Bresnan’s annual cash flow of $160 million) to the winning bidder.

That would push the price well into the $1 billion range, including equity.

No date has been set for initial bids on the systems yet. Possible bidders include other private equity firms and smaller cable operators, people in the know say. Comcast, which owns about 30%, would likely be encouraged to remain a partner by any new financial investor.

‘60 Minutes’ Piece Strikes ‘Gold’ in Malone’s Contest

Liberty Media’s John Malone gave out the company’s first “Media for Liberty” award Thursday night to 60 Minutes for a segment, “Congo Gold,” about how precious minerals have helped fuel the deadliest war since World War II.

The award is for journalism that “explores the relationship between political and economic liberty.”

The Congo suffers from a lack of both, with its mineral wealth stripped by warring factions to fuel an ongoing conflict that has claimed 5 million lives since 1996.

Malone, presenting the award to 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley and the piece’s producers, called the segment the sort of programming that makes him proud to be in the TV business.

The evening was hosted by political humorist P.J. O’Rourke, who managed to relate the excesses of agricultural subsidies to his experience with artificially inseminating a cow. Malone added that he had about 16,000 head if O’Rourke wanted to try again.

Malone was joined at the head table by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). That did not stop the Liberty Media chairman from extolling the virtues of journalism as a way to keep power from corrupting powerful politicians.

Malone talked briefly about the reason for the journalism award. He chronicled various investments, including those in PBS NewsHour (MacNeil/Lehrer Productions president Les Crystal was in the audience), Ted Turner’s CNN and Fox News Channel. Malone said the goal from his earliest days in the cable business was to have the “broadest platform” possible. But he said the challenge today is not how to get those voices heard, but how to pay for them.

The big issue, he said, especially for broadcasting, is how to continue to afford sending a reporter to Iraq, and keeping them there. He added that distributors — like cable and satellite networks — are doing their part and will likely be supporting broadcasters for some time to come via retrans.