Atlantic Broadband Completes Initial Acquisition

New cable entity will serve 228,500 subscribers in five states

QUINCY, Mass (March 1, 2004) -- Atlantic Broadband LLC, led by cable veterans Dave Keefe and Ed Holleran, has completed its acquisition of cable systems serving approximately 228,500 subscribers in Miami Beach, Western Pennsylvania, the Maryland/Delaware peninsula and West Virginia. Atlantic will assume management of the systems and the systems' approximate 450 employees immediately.

Atlantic is an investment venture formed by Keefe, Holleran and ABRY Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. ABRY along with its longtime cable investment partner Oak Hill Capital Partners led the $270 million round of equity financing, while a bank consortium led by Merrill Lynch, GE Capital and Societe Generale provided $545 million in debt financing ($395 million senior/$150 million subordinated). ABRY Partner Jay Grossman commented, "This sale, which was announced in September, closed in near record time in large part due to the enthusiastic reception of the investment community to our business plan."

The majority of the properties have been upgraded to a minimum of 750 MHz, and most offer cable modem service. Keefe, Atlantic's CEO, said the company's first priority is the upgrade of the Maryland and Delaware properties, which do not currently offer high-speed data service. "We believe that there is a significant opportunity here to enhance the customer experience and provide a greatly needed cable modem service." Atlantic President Ed Holleran added, "We are enthusiastic about continuing Charter's efforts in developing the digital and cable modem sides of the business, and we have a strong management team in place to achieve that."

Atlantic Broadband, based in Quincy, Massachusetts, was formed by ABRY, Keefe and Holleran to acquire and operate cable television systems offering video and high-speed data services to residential and commercial customers. ABRY Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms in the country investing solely in the media and communications sectors.