Charter to Offer to Buy Time Warner Cable

Company had approached Comcast about a merger

Charter Communications is preparing to offer less than $135 a share in cash and stock next week to buy Time Warner Cable, the latest development in a bidding match for the nation's second largest cable TV provider, according to a source familiar with the matter.

While Time Warner Cable has approached Comcast for a deal to merge earlier this year, Charter Communications is seeking a cash and stock deal partly at the urging of a major stake holder, Liberty Media, that is controlled by industry legend John Malone.