Adelphia Board to Weigh Joint Bid

Directors of troubled cable operator Adelphia Communications Corp. plan to discuss today whether allowing its two biggest rivals to join in a takeover bid would undermine its auction, sources close to the situation said.

Sources said the board would discuss at a scheduled meeting the potential partnership between Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. Analysts have predicted that removing Adelphia’s two most promising suitors may thwart a bidding war.

Although several parties could buy pieces of Adelphia, analysts say that only Comcast or Time Warner has the resources to buy the entire operation, which is the nation’s fifth-largest cable TV provider and the Southern California leader.

However, sources familiar with the board’s thinking said barring a joint bid by Time Warner and Comcast could backfire if one or both companies sat out the auction rather than joined a bidding war.

Comcast and Time Warner, the nation’s two biggest cable TV companies, confirmed last week that they might team up.

Adelphia filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002 and agreed in April to put itself up for sale to repay the nearly $20 billion it owes creditors. Adelphia founder John Rigas, 79, and son Timothy were convicted in July of looting the company.

Adelphia executives would not comment, except to say that the company was “committed to maximizing the value for its constituents.”