Altice: Cablevision Acquisition In The Works

Altice, the telecommunications giant in Europe, announced on Thursday that it is buying Cablevision for just over $17.7 billion, as the business pushes further into the cable market in the USA that is quickly consolidating.

“The strategy of Altice in the large and highly strategic US market is reinforced with the acquisition of Cablevision“, Drahi said.

The news follows an agreement by the Dutch company to acquire a 70% interest in USA cable firm Suddenlink Communications in a deal valued at $9.1 billion.

Shares of Cablevision jumped 16 percent to US$33.12 in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The sale to Altice approximately values the collective stake of the Dolans in Cablevision to around $2.2 billion.

Altice will have all of New York’s Cablevision customers and could help them get started for future business in the U.S. Cablevision’s big competitor in the New York metro area is Verizon, which offers FiOS services.

Altice created the dual-class structure in June so as to allow it to do more deals in shares without Mr Drahi losing control. The deal had been rumored for some time.

In addition to its TV division, Cablevision operates the Newsday Media Group, which publishes several newspapers in New York, including amNewYork and Long Island’s Newsday. Cablevision will give the European company 3.1 million business and residential customers. The purchase price falls within our expected parameters and catapults Altice into the No. 5 spot among cable operators with 3.74 million video subs.

Altice said it hopes to complete the deal in the first half of next year, though it remains subject to regulatory approval.

Altice says the combination of both companies will make up the fourth-largest cable US operator.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York, Drahi said more than 300 employees at Cablevision earn over US$300,000 a year.

In a written statement, Cablevision CEO James Dolan said the family was “honored” to have provided for its customers during the transition from phone and television only to the Internet age.