Verizon's $100 Billion Attempt To Buy Charter Got Rejected

Verizon reportedly attempted to purchase Charter, the second largest cable provider in the United States, for more than $100 billion but had its offer rejected, according to the New York Post.

The potential merger of the two largest cable companies in the country was reportedly turned down because the offering from Verizon was “too low” and Charter is not yet ready to sell.

Read: Verizon-Charter Merger: Report Indicates Verizon Is Looking To Buy Charter

The attempted purchase from Verizon comes as the company is experiencing slowing sales of mobile devices and additional competition as cable provider Comcast has started eyeing the mobile market.

Verizon also reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Sirius XM, the popular satellite radio service, but didn’t get as far in its pursuit. The company is reportedly looking at moves that would help keep up with AT&T, which expanded beyond mobile and wired service provider by purchasing content companies DirecTV and Time Warner.

Standing in the way of Verizon’s attempts to expand its hold on the cable and media markets is Liberty Media, the largest shareholder in both Charter and Sirius XM. The company is reportedly unwilling to part with either businesses at the moment.

The apparent rejected offer is just the latest in the recent flirtations with merger between Verizon and Charter, which started late last year after Donald Trump was elected President and the possibility for consolidation in the communications industries seemed more plausible.

Read: Verizon Merging With Comcast? Verizon CEO Says Company Is Open To Merger

Reports that Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam approached officials at Charter to open discussions on a possible acquisition began surfacing as early as January, and the telecom reportedly started working with advisers to study the potential purchase at around the same time.

The reports came shortly after the incoming Trump administration signaled that it was unlikely to block AT&T’s purchase of content creator Time Warner, an acquisition that was likely to be scrutinized by the FCC under a Democratic president.

In April, McAdam spoke openly about Verizon’s interest in expanding its business by making a major purchase. During an interview, the company CEO mentioned Comcast, Disney and CBS as potential partners, though he said he hadn’t had any communications with those companies.

“If [Comcast CEO] Brian [Roberts] came knocking on the door, I’d have a discussion with him about it,” McAdam said in his conversation with Bloomberg. “But I’d also tell you there isn’t much that I wouldn’t have a discussion around if somebody came and said, ‘Here’s a compelling reason why we ought to put the businesses together.'"

If Verizon were to absorb Charter—which just recently completed its own acquisition of cable provider Time Warner Cable for $65 billion in 2015—it would mark a massive merger of two of the biggest players in the companies’ respective fields.

Verizon is the largest mobile carrier in the United States, with more than 114 million subscribers, while Charter’s base of 17 million cable and 21 million broadband customers makes it the second largest cable company in the country. By acquiring Charter’s massive base of wired internet subscribers, Verizon would also become the leader in that that field.