Key Mediacom Date: Sept. 7

By Mike Farrell -- Multichannel News, 7/26/2010 12:01:00 AM

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — Rocco Commisso’s quest for privacy continues on, at least until September.

The Mediacom Communications chairman and CEO’s proposal to take the company he founded in 1995 private is continuing into its second month. While the process continues to move forward, according to one analyst, no deal can be official until at least Sept. 7, the expiration of a standstill agreement the Mediacom chief agreed to in 2008.

The standstill is part of Mediacom’s acquisition of 30% of its stock from Morris Communications in 2008. In that deal, Commisso agreed he would not consummate a transaction to increase his holdings in Mediacom for two years.

Miller Tabak media analyst David Joyce said the standstill does not preclude Commisso or Mediacom from announcing a deal; it just can’t be closed until after Sept. 7.

Commisso proposed buying the shares of Mediacom he didn’t already own for $6 per share on June 1. Shortly after Mediacom appointed a special committee of independent directors led by current board members Thomas Reifenheiser (retired managing director at J.P. Morgan Chase) and Natale Ricciardi (a senior vice president at drug giant Pfizer Inc.) to evaluate the proposal. The special committee appointed Barclays Capital as its financial advisor and law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP to provide legal advice as it reviewed the proposal. But so far, no new news has come from either camp.

“The committee continues to review the proposal,” Mediacom vice president of public affairs Thomas Larsen said.

Commisso already owns about 40% of Mediacom’s outstanding stock and 87% of its vote. Analysts, for the most part, expect Commisso to raise his offer, as Mediacom’s stock has risen well past the June 1 offering price.

Mediacom shares closed at $6.91 each, up 23 cents (3.4%), on July 22.