Altice (company)

Altice Europe N.V. (commonly known as Altice) is a French multinational telecommunications corporation.[1] multinational telecoms and mass media company, founded and headed by the French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, and the second largest telecoms company in France, behind Orange.

This article is about the company in Europe, Israel, and the Caribbean. For the former USA subsidiary that is now independent, see Altice USA.

Altice Europe N.V.
TypePublic (N.V.)
ISINNL0011333752
IndustryTelecommunications
Mass media
Founded2001 (2001)
FounderPatrick Drahi
Headquarters
Woerden, Netherlands
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Patrick Drahi
(Chairman)
Alain Weill
(CEO)
ProductsCable television, Direct-broadcast satellite, broadcasting, broadband and telephony services, mass media
Revenue€2,54 billion (2017)
€2,845 billion (2017)
179,3 million (2017)
Total assets€88,39 million (2017)
Total equity€30,00 million (2017)
OwnerPatrick Drahi (controlling shareholder)
Number of employees
47,143 (2018)
SubsidiariesAltice Dominicana S.A.
Altice Portugal
Altice France (SFR)
Hot
Websitewww.altice.net

It had a market capitalization of €13.7 billion (US$15.15 billion), as of December 2017, and a market cap of less than €6 billion as of June 29, 2019 tracking an 80% decline for the stock since Drahi financed the business with debt .[2][3] As of 2016, the company has over 50 million internet, TV, and phone customers in Western Europe, Israel, and the Caribbean.[4] Altice formerly owned a subsidiary in the USA until that company, while retaining the Altice name, was spun off via an IPO in June 2019, making the former USA division independent from the rest of Altice but still has the same Chairman Patrick Drahi and the same logo as of 2020.[5]

History

Altice bought several regional cable television operators in France from 2002 to 2007, merging them under the brand Numericable.

In 2009, Patrick Drahi increased his stake in Hot, a cable television operator in Israel. Drahi completed the takeover in 2011, and offered to buy the remaining shares in 2012.[6][7][8][9]

In November 2013, Orange announced it was selling Orange Dominicana to Altice for $1.4 billion.[10]

In March 2014, it acquired SFR, France's second-largest mobile phone and Internet services company, from Vivendi.

In November 2014, France's competition watchdog approved a deal for Numericable to acquire Virgin Mobile France for €325 million.[11]

In May 2015, Altice acquired a 70% controlling stake in Suddenlink Communications, which valued the seventh-largest US cable company at US$9.1 billion. The other 30% continues to be owned by BC Partners and CPP Investment Board.[12]

In May 2015, Altice was said to be launching a bid for Time Warner Cable, which has a US$45 billion market capitalization, following a failed bid by Comcast.[12] It was instead acquired by Charter Communications.[13]

In June 2015 Altice acquired Portugal Telecom and sold Cabovisão to Apax France.[14]

In June 2015, it was reported that Altice had offered €10 billion for Bouygues Telecom, the third largest telecoms company in France.[15] Bouygues' board refused and as of March 2016, is considering merging with Orange.[16]

On 17 September 2015, it was announced that Altice would acquire Cablevision, a Long Island, New York based cable provider for US$17.7 billion, including debt.[13][17]

In October 2015, it was announced that backing the Altice purchase of Cablevision, were private equity firm BC Partners and CPPIB.[18]

In December 2016, Altice announced its deal to sell SFR Belux to Telenet for €400 million.[19]

In March 2017, Altice acquired video ad tech firm Teads for US$307 million.[20]

In May 2017, Altice and Altice USA unveiled a new logo and slogan, "Together Has No Limits," and announced that it would unify all of its telecom holdings under the singular Altice brand by mid-2018.[21][22]

In September 2020, Drahi put on an offer of €2.5 billion to buy minority shareholders of Altice Europe and secure control of the company.[23]

References
  1. "Altice N.V. announces the completion of the cross-border merger" (PDF). Altice (Press release). 10 August 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  2. Laurent, Lionel (5 December 2017). "Cable Billionaire Stays In His $59 Billion Comfort Zone". Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  3. "Altice shares drop down to new lows". Reuters. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  4. Lieberman, David (22 June 2017). "Altice USA Shares Rise As It Goes Public On Anniversary Of Cablevision Deal".
  5. Alpert, Bill (26 May 2019). "Altice's U.S. Spinoff Looks Like a Winning Bet". Barron's. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  6. Yoshai, Michal (15 November 2009). "Drahi nears HOT control - Globes". Globes (in Hebrew). Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  7. "Patrick Drahi completes HOT takeover - Globes". en.globes.co.il (in Hebrew). 29 November 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  8. "Drahi ups HOT offer to purchase - Globes". en.globes.co.il (in Hebrew). 3 October 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  9. "Drahi, le patron de Numericable, a testé en Israël sa stratégie pour SFR". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  10. "Orange reached an agreement with Altice for the disposal of Orange Dominicana". orange.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  11. "French regulator approves Numericable-Virgin deal" (Press release). Reuters. 27 November 2014.
  12. Smith, Gerry (20 May 2015). "Time Warner Cable Said to Get Takeover Approach From Altice". Bloomberg. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  13. "Altice to Buy Cablevision for $10 Billion". Wall Street Journal. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  14. "Altice finalises acquisition of Portugal Telecom". Agence France-Presse and Business Insider. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  15. Davidson, Lauren (21 June 2015). "Patrick Drahi eyes Bouygues Telecom for French merger". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  16. "March is 'go or no go' for Bouygues merger decision: Orange". cnbc.com. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  17. Ackman, Dan (17 September 2015). "European cable firm Altice to buy Cablevision for $17.7 billion". CNET. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  18. "CPPIB and BC Partners Back Altice's Bid for Cablevision". Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  19. "Altice to sell SFR BeLux to Telenet for 400 million euros" (Press release). Reuters. 22 December 2016.
  20. "Video ad tech firm Teads to be acquired by Dutch telco Altice for $307 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  21. "Altice Unveils Unified Global Brand, Strategy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  22. "Altice Unveils New Global Brand, Logo". Multichannel News. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  23. Nic Fildes; Nikou Asgari (11 September 2020). "Drahi offers to take Altice Europe private in €2.5bn buyout". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
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