Dolan: No plans for Cablevision buyout, for now

By Yinka Adegoke

NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Dolan family has no immediate plans to take Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N) private but would not rule out another attempt in the future, Chief Executive Jim Dolan said on Thursday.

Dolan, whose family has a controlling stake in the New York cable operator, said at a media conference that Cablevision is now focused on its growth strategy, as well as on paying down $1.7 billion of debt.

"I would never completely rule it out, but at this time it's not really on our radar," Dolan said, when asked if his family would again try to buy Cablevision after several previous attempts had been resisted by large shareholders.

He said the failure of the Dolans to buy out the company, last attempted in October 2007, "really changed things at Cablevision."

"We'd planned on being a company that was going to be highly leveraged -- probably not the best position to be in today -- to a company that was going to have free cash flow in the upcoming year," Dolan told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in New York.

He said asset sales could be on the cards but added that the tight credit markets make the sale or purchase of assets less likely.

Cablevision, which has more than 3 million TV subscribers in the New York metropolitan area, also owns cable networks like the Sundance Channel and AMC, live venues like Madison Square Garden and sports teams like basketball's New York Knicks.

Dolan said assets that would most likely be available for sale were "strategically the ones that will probably have the toughest road in front of them, are the well developed mature programming assets."

Cablevision's share price rose more than 50 percent after the company said on July 31 it was considering strategic options including asset sales. But in the last few days, its share price has fallen more significantly than the market, down nearly 20 percent from highs earlier this month.

Analysts said investors no longer believe the company will be able to easily sell assets given the financial crisis affecting the banking sector. (Editing by Steve Orlofsky)