Page 15 - 4-17-15 Friday's Edition

Features
Plumbing Problems Force Brandon
Deal To Sell Brighthouse Being Negotiated
Walmart’s Closure For 6 Months
BRANDON WAL MART SUPERSTORE
Charter Communications is negotiating with Bright House Networks to buy the cable company in a deal val- ued at $10.4 billion.
Charter Communications is the fourth-largest cable operator in the country with Bright House being the sixth.
The company will be con- ducted through a partner- ship, with Charter owning 73.7% and the parent com- pany of Bright House, Ad- vance/Newhouse, retaining 26.3%.
Bright House serves cus- tomers in Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and Cali- fornia. They also run the Bay News 9 News Channel.
The deal is still subject to conditions, including Char- ter shareholder approval, the expiration of Time Warner Cable’s right of first offer for Bright House and the closing of Charter’s previously an- nounced deal with Comcast.
Bright House is currently owned by the Newhouse family, who also owns Conde Nast, the publisher of major magazines like Vogue, Van-
The Brandon Walmart Store, 1208 East Brandon Boulevard will be closed for six months, according to company officials.
The closure is due to plumbing problems at the Super Center that has also caused four other stores to close across the country.
Officials from Walmart’s corporate offices said they will begin the process to ad- dress the plumbing issues and will reopen the store as soon as all of the plumbing is- sues have been resolved.
Officials said the problems became apparent when drains became clogged and leaks in plumbing lines that affected the availability of water and drainage around the store.
Among the 400 employ-
ees at that store, officials said they can seek to be trans- ferred to another store if a similar job opening is avail- able, or they will be paid for 60 days of work. At the end of the 60 days if an associate didn’t get an eligible position, they can get severance bene- fits equivalent to a week of pay for each full year of serv- ice.
Walmart officials said they will also host an internal job fair to assist with the trans- fers, provide assistance with resume writing, and host an external job fair to assist with other employment opportu- nities.
After repairs have been completed at the Brandon store, all employees will have to reapply to come back to that store.
TOM RUTLEDGE Charter Communications CEO
ity Fair, Wired and The New Yorker.
If the deal is finalized, it would be this year’s second big shakeup in the broad- band market.
Brighthouse Senior Di- rector Of Corporate Commu- nications, Joe Durkin, said there is an offer in place.
“Several things will have to be negotiated along with approval from the FCC.
“Telecomunications have become a way of life, and now it’s a very competitive market.
According to a source, J.D. Power, who surveys cus- tomer satisfaction of cable television operators, gener-
JOE DURKIN
Bright House Dir. Of Corporate Communications
ally have given below-aver- age marks to Charter.
Charter President and CEO, Tom Rutledge said, “Bright House Networks provides Charter with im- portant operating, financial and tax benefits, as well as strategic flexibility. They have built outstanding cable systems in attractive mar- kets that are either complete, or contiguous with the New Charter footprint.
“This new acquisition would enhance our scale, and solidify New Charter as the second largest cable op- erator in the country. I look forward to working with the Bright House team.”
FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-B