Time Warner Cable becomes public

(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Time Warner Cable officially became a public company after a judge cleared the way for a reorganization plan for Adelphia Communications, which is being acquired by Time Warner Cable and Comcast.

Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable provider in the US after Comcast, said its shares would begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange as early as March 1 under the ticker symbol 'TWC.'

Even after becoming public, the company will still be majority owned and controlled by its parent company Time Warner, the media conglomerate which also owns Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, and the Time magazine publisher.

Time Warner Cable completed its acquisition of Adelphia last July, but the bankruptcy process continued for months after that due to legal challenges.

As part of its payment for many of Adelphia's cable assets, the rest of which are going to Comcast, Time Warner Cable will distribute 156 million shares of its stock, or about 16% of its total outstanding shares, to stakeholders in Adelphia. That stake is valued at approximately $6 billion.

Adelphia announced that its reorganization plan would officially go into effect Tuesday. That cleared the way for Time Warner Cable to distribute its shares to Adelphia stakeholders and succeed Adelphia as a publicly traded corporation.

Time Warner Cable's shares have been trading on a temporary or 'when-issued' basis on the New York Stock Exchange since early this year under the symbol 'TWCAV.'

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