Charter, TCI in Deal With InterMedia

Charter Communications Corp., a cable-TV operator owned by billionaire Paul Allen, and Tele-Communications Inc. will acquire cable systems from InterMedia Partners in a transaction valued at $2.4 billion, the companies said.

Charter will gain 400,000 of InterMedia’s 1.2 million subscribers and give TCI, the No. 2 cable-TV operator and co-owner of InterMedia, cable systems in Montana and Indiana with 140,000 customers. TCI will also receive 300,000 subscribers in Nashville from InterMedia. The three-way transaction is expected to close this summer pending regulatory approvals.

Allen is buying cable operators and plans to use their lines to deliver high-speed communications and computer services to homes. Allen, a Microsoft Corp. co-founder, bought St. Louis-based Charter late last year and is combining it with his Marcus Cable Properties Inc. to form the seventh-largest U.S. cable company.