Chairman John Malone of Liberty Media looked at different options for Charter Communications to purchase its bigger rival, Time Warner Cable. This was according to a media report. Liberty Media holds a 27% stake in Charter Communications. Last Thursday, Bloomberg reported through sources that the company has sought options on how to structure offers with enough money to win investors in Time Warner Cable.  

According to the cited sources, the options included borrowing against its own balance sheet of Time Warner Cable's asset. This was to raise cash needed for an offer, sources added.

After Comcast, Time Warner Cable is the second biggest cable provider in the US.

Earlier this year, Malone took a leap back into the US cable market. This was through an investment made in Charter Communications. According to analysts, a predicted wave of cable consolidation will transpire as the cable TV market in the US faces increasing programming costs.

This afternoon, shares for Time Warner Cable increased 5.7%. Cablevision, a smaller player in the industry also went up by the same percentage with Charter increasing by 4% higher.

Time Warner Cable shares were up 5.7 percent in afternoon trading. Cablevision, a smaller player in the cable industry, was also up 5.7 percent, with Charter 4 percent higher.