Paul Allen may sell Charter Communications

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Paul Allen said Wednesday he might sell or privatize the No. 4 U.S. cable company, Charter Communication Inc., which he controls.

Allen, who has a 51.7 percent economic stake in Charter and controls 91 percent of the voting power, said in a regulatory filing he might buy all the remaining stock he doesn’t own, The Wall Street Journal reported.

At Charter's current stock price, that would amount to about $1 billion.

Allen, who formed Microsoft Corp. with Bill Gates, also said in his filing he was considering recapitalizing or restructuring Charter to reduce its debt.

With debt exceeding $19 billion, the company is one of the most highly leveraged in the cable industry, the Journal said.

Allen may also consider "other extraordinary corporate transactions, such as mergers or reorganization or sales of material assets," his filing said.

Charter shares closed down 9 cents, or 3.38 percent, at $2.57 a share on the Nasdaq stock exchange. They were trading close to $5 a share about one month ago, the Journal said.