The series that began in the summer continues in September. Shaken by the corruption scandal affecting his group, at a time when the debt – 60 billion dollars – of his empire worries investors, billionaire Patrick Drahi continues to explore his options with a view to a partial or total sale of some Altice songs. While Le Figaro mentioned at the beginning of August the possibility of a vast Monopoly around the assets that the billionaire could sell to reduce his debt, this possibility is taking an increasingly concrete turn.
Also readCorruption, debt, sale of BFM… The truths of Arthur Dreyfuss, CEO of Altice France
At the beginning of September, the newspaper Le Monde raised the possibility of a partial sale of the capital of SFR, whose parent company Altice France alone is in debt to the tune of 24 billion euros. “SFR is seen as the Eiffel Tower (brand, networks, organization, quality, etc.) and we will have many options,” Patrick Drahi indicated in a meeting in London with investors. But the French asset is obviously not the only one weighed. United States, Portugal (where the scandal started), Dominican Republic, the start-up Teads… the Drahi empire has numerous entities likely to interest players for financial or sectoral operations. The group rather favors capital increases with the entry of minority shareholders, in particular private equity funds.
Altice has mandated several banks – the names of Lazard, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs are regularly mentioned – to measure the appetite of these players and offer them options. Private equity or infrastructure funds such as KKR, Ardian, Blackrock, but also from Gulf countries could be interested in taking an equity stake in one of Patrick Drahi’s companies, according to two sources interviewed. International operators would potentially be interested. Among them, the names of the Dutch KPN, the French Orange, and Liberty Global were cited by certain analysts in Le Figaro. In the list of interesting assets, rumors continue to arise about a sale of the media division made up of BFM and RMC, particularly in France. If the subject was raised during the meeting at the beginning of September in London with investors, the CEO of Altice France Arthur Dreyfuss nevertheless insisted on September 8 “Altice Media is not for sale! »
When contacted, the multinational refused to comment. Its next major credit deadline is set for 2025, and for an amount of 1.6 billion euros which it says it is certain to be able to repay. To do this, it will be able to use the proceeds from the sale of the group’s French data centers, which should bring in several hundred million euros and for which Altice has entered into exclusive negotiations with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partner, as Le Figaro announced in early August. .
Also read Corruption, debt… A decisive week for Patrick Drahi’s empire
Altice has a little margin, at least until the beginning of 2024, but everything could accelerate if an asset were to find a buyer, at a price that satisfies Patrick Drahi. Monday evening, Les Échos indicated for example that the businessman was seeking 3 billion for the French entity, on the basis of a valuation at eight times Ebidta for French activities. “All of this is still very theoretical, both in terms of the scope and the amounts. The group will let it happen, and the valuation will undoubtedly depend on the share of capital targeted by the interested entities,” indicates a good expert in the telecoms sector.
