Altice, owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi, said it would acquire 70% of the share capital in Suddenlink from existing shareholders BC Partners, CPP Investment Board and Suddenlink management. BC Partners and CPP Investment Board will retain the remaining 30% stake in Suddenlink.
Suddenlink is said to be the seventh largest US cable operator with 1.5 million residential and 90,000 business customers. With operations primarily focussed in Texas, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Arizona, the company is present in attractive growth markets for both residential and business services, said Altice.
Suddenlink generated $2.3 billion in revenue and over $900 million in EBITDA with a balanced revenue mix between residential video, broadband, telephony and business services in 2014.
“Our investment in Suddenlink, our first in the cable sector in the US, opens an attractive industrial and strategic avenue for Altice in the US, one of the largest and fastest growing communications markets in the world,” said Dexter Goei, CEO of Altice.
“We are looking forward to our partnership with BC Partners and CPP Investment Board and believe Suddenlink is a best-in-class business that should be able to deliver profitability and cash flow levels in line with best-in-class European cable businesses."
In 2014, Altice’s French cable company, Numericable, acquired SFR for €17 billion. The company has also reportedly been in talks to purchase Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable company in the US.
