Shareholders Reject Cablevision Deal

Shareholders on Wednesday unplugged the Dolan family’s $10.6 billion bid for Cablevision Systems.
The investor vote leaves Cablevision as an independent company and spells an end, for now, to two years of takeover efforts by the Dolans. Though Cablevision did not provide a breakdown of the vote, large shareholders, proxy advisory firms and analysts had expressed strong reservations about the offer.
Cablevision’s largest outside shareholder, the hedge fund ClearBridge Advisors, and the fund manager Mario Gabelli both opposed the buyout offer, saying the price was too low. Mr. Gabelli went even further, filing notice that he planned to exercise his shareholder appraisal rights, which allow a Delaware court to determine the fair value of his shares.
For their part, despite the latest and most definitive setback they have faced, the Dolans said they remain confident in the company’s future.
“While we are disappointed that shareholders did not approve the transaction, there is really nothing negative about today’s outcome,” the family’s two leading members, Charles Dolan and James Dolan, said in a statement. “We see today’s outcome as a vote of confidence in the prospects of Cablevision, its management team, its 20,000 employees and the industry’s future.”
Go to Cablevision Press Release »