"Time Warner Cable would rather grow through acquisitions than be bought by billionaire John Malone, and has been eyeing Cablevision, its most coveted target, and No. 3 cable operator Cox Cable, according to three people familiar with" the thinking of Time Warner Cable executives, reports Reuters.

The story continues, "Time Warner, the second-largest U.S. cable operator with more than 12 million subscribers, has contacted both companies in recent months to discuss options including a merger, according to one of the people, although in neither case have the talks progressed to any serious consideration of a transaction. The source did not say how recent the talks were."

The article adds, "Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt is not interested in a Charter merger, according to people with knowledge of the matter. … A fourth person familiar with Time Warner Cable’s thinking said that its executives believe a merger with Charter would not benefit Time Warner Cable shareholders because of the large amount of debt it would put on the combined company’s balance sheet. They are also skeptical about potential synergies."

As previously reported, Malone, whose Liberty Media now owns 27% of Charter, is looking for one or more MSO acquisitions.