Comcast sees 'simple' integration

Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable-television operator, said Adelphia Communications Corp.'s systems would be easier to integrate into its business than assets acquired from AT&T Corp. in 2002.

"The integration would be fairly simple" if Comcast and Time Warner Inc. win their joint bid for Adelphia's assets, Comcast co- chief financial officer John Alchin said Wednesday at a Bears Stearns media conference in Palm Beach, Fla. Comcast and Time Warner, which owns the No. 2 U.S. cable company, last month bid more than $17 billion for Adelphia's assets.

Buying Adelphia would allow the two companies to swap cable systems so Comcast could unwind its 21 percent stake in Time Warner's cable unit. Philadelphia-based Comcast is required by U.S. regulators to end its ownership of that stake by 2007.

"There's absolutely no question but that the opportunity we have with Time Warner to tax-effectively" reduce the stake in Time Warner Cable keeps Comcast interested in Adelphia, Alchin said.

Shares of Comcast fell 1 cent to close at $32.87 Wednesday on Nasdaq. They have gained 9.8 percent in the past 12 months.

Comcast previously owned some of Adelphia's assets, including those in Palm Beach, Fla., and most of the systems don't need to be rebuilt, Alchin said.

Adelphia would be "nowhere near the challenge" that AT&T Broadband posed after Comcast acquired those systems in November 2002 for $56 billion, Alchin said.

AT&T's cable business almost tripled Comcast's size to more than 22 million subscribers from 8 million. Comcast's capital spending more than doubled to $4.16 billion in 2003 following that acquisition.

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