Charter-as-M&A-Target Speculation 'Absurd,' MoffettNathanson Analyst Says

No report of supposed Charter Communications mergers and acquisitions -- the latest being Altice/Charter -- is credible, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote Thursday, saying a variety of other proposed telco and media deals like Comcast/Verizon, Verizon/Dish Network, Comcast/Charter and Amazon/Dish are equally absurd. They don't "pass even the most cursory analytical tests," except for Sprint/T-Mobile -- which still is somewhat unlikely, he said: None of the proposed Charter buyers -- Verizon, SoftBank, Altice -- has the financial ability, and Comcast/Charter "would be a regulatory monstrosity" that likely wouldn't get DOJ approval -- ditto Comcast/Verizon. Verizon/Dish speculation ignores that Verizon is more interested in network densification than spectrum for adding capacity, the analyst said, and AT&T/Dish would leave AT&T overseeing a TV operation losing subscribers rapidly.