Cable One acquisition of Mega Broadband halted by court order

A New York federal court has issued a temporary restraining order to halt Cable One’s $480 million plan to acquire the remaining 55% stake in Mega Broadband Investments (MBI). The decision follows an emergency request from CoBank, a lender that holds approximately $1.1 billion in secured credit issued by Cable One.

CoBank argued that the transaction could weaken its ability to recover outstanding loans, describing the pending deal as a “fraudulent transfer.” The lender warned that the acquisition could push Cable One toward bankruptcy by making its remaining assets “unreasonably small” relative to its existing debt. Cable One reported $3.06 billion in gross debt at the end of the second quarter and recently experienced a loss of 17,400 broadband subscribers.

The acquisition of MBI, which owns Vyve Broadband, was intended to expand Cable One’s regional footprint. Following the court's intervention, Cable One shares fell 26.78% on Friday, closing at $11.14. The company had previously indicated it was in advanced discussions with GTCR and other investors to secure roughly $1.25 billion in new financing to address its balance sheet.