Harbinger ups Cablevision stake to 8.1 percent

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activist investor Harbinger Capital increased its stake in Cablevision Systems Corp to 8.1 percent in the last week, making it the cable operator's fourth largest external investor, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.

The filing shows Harbinger bought an additional 7.8 million shares in Cablevision in the period between August 11 and August 20, increasing its stake to more than 8 percent from 4.9 percent as of June 30.

Harbinger, which has a reputation for forcing change on the media companies it invests in, including the New York Times Co and Media General, started building its stake in the New York cable operator in June, according to the filing.

Analysts have commented that Harbinger's reputation might have spooked Cablevision's management into reaching out to long-standing

investors this month soon after it learnt that Harbinger had built a significant stake.

On August 15, Cablevision initiated its first-ever regular quarterly dividend after several large shareholders had called on management to take drastic measures to better align its share price with what they saw as its intrinsic value.

Cablevision Chief Executive Jim Dolan had met with several large shareholders including Gamco Investors, ClearBridge Advisors and T Rowe Price to discuss its options.

These investors also want Cablevision, which is controlled by the Dolan family, to sell off some its cable network assets to fund a major share buyback as a way to help boost the share price.

Gamco's Mario Gabelli, who led the push by Cablevision's long-standing investors, has welcomed news of Harbinger's stake. He told Reuters on August 15: "The more people on board with our line of thinking the happier we are."

Cablevision's shares have risen more than 50 percent since July 31 when Dolan first said the company would be reaching out to shareholders to discuss its options. Its shares closed down 10 cents on Thursday at $32.46.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)