'CHTR Shock' Merger Candidate Plummets 25%... 1.5 Trillion Won Vanishes in a Day

Liberty Broadband Corp. Class C (NASDAQ: LBRDK) shares plunged 25.69% to close at $41.96 on the Nasdaq on the 24th. Trading volume topped 5.988 million shares, far above the one-month average, and the company’s market capitalization shrank to about $5.2 billion (roughly ₩7.3 trillion), wiping out some $1.07 billion (approximately ₩1.5 trillion) in a single day. ()

This sell-off was triggered by a similar collapse in Charter Communications—whose roughly 26% stake Liberty Broadband holds—after Charter’s first-quarter earnings revealed subscriber losses and weak results, sending its stock tumbling over 20%. The episode underscored Liberty Broadband’s de facto leverage to Charter’s share price. () As the reference price in the merger exchange ratio of 0.236 Charter shares per Liberty Broadband share fell apart, investors betting on merger arbitrage were forced to unwind their positions. ()

Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, Liberty Broadband is a holding company whose assets consist predominantly of its stake in Charter Communications—America’s second-largest cable operator—and Alaska telecom provider GCI Holdings. () Under the merger agreement announced in November 2024, Liberty Broadband shareholders will receive 0.236 shares of Charter common stock for each Liberty share. Once the deal closes, Liberty Broadband will be fully absorbed into Charter. ()