Rutledge declined to give an estimate on potential cost savings from a deal but said they were "significant" and they had told Time Warner Cable what they were. Reuters has previously reported that Liberty management had told investors that synergies could be as high as $700 million. Rutledge said Malone's Liberty Media Corp. wants to retain its 25 percent ownership stake in Charter and has the option to invest equity in the deal. He said the exact amount was being worked out. Time Warner Cable was not immediately available for comment. Charter said that it had made repeated overtures to Time Warner Cable for more than six months but that the response led Charter to determine that there was no intent to engage in a merger. Charter said in a letter to Time Warner Cable that the company had unrealistic price expectations. The smaller rival said it remained open to all options but that it was fully prepared to finalize a deal on an expedited basis. Time Warner has become one of the industry's weakest performers.