Cable operator Altice USA Inc. agreed to acquire streaming video network Cheddar Inc. for $200 million, a deal that is expected to raise the profile of the company’s news division.
Benjamian Mullin and Lillian Rizzo of The Wall Street Journal reported, “Jon Steinberg, the founder and chief executive of Cheddar, will become president of Altice News, a unit that will include Cheddar as well as Altice’s News 12 channel and i24News, a current-affairs news network.
“Mr. Steinberg said he would be reinvesting some of the deal proceeds into Altice USA stock as a sign of commitment to integrating his company into its new owner. He declined to provide specifics.
“Dexter Goei, the chief executive of Altice USA, said the deal came together in the past six weeks as both leaders discussed the possible upsides of a tie-up. Cheddar’s relationship with Altice dates back to 2017, when the cable distributor invested in Cheddar.
“‘We’ve been dancing around this for the last couple of years,’ Mr. Goei said. ‘The reason why I didn’t pull the trigger in the last couple years is because I wanted Jon to prove out the model he’s been building.'”
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