Altice confirmed an offer to acquire Portugal Telecom from Oi for EUR 7.4 billion n on a cash and debt-free free basis which includes EUR 500 million consideration related to the future revenue generation of Portugal Telecom. The transaction, net of financial debt, accrued post-retirement liabilities and other purchase price adjustments will be financed by new debt and existing cash from Altice. The deal includes the existing business of Portugal Telecom outside of Africa and excludes Portugal Telecom’s Rio Forte debt securities, Oi treasury shares and Portugal Telecom financing vehicles.
Altice is a multinational cable and telecommunications company with presence in three regions-Western Europe (comprising France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland), Israel and the Overseas Territories (currently comprising the French Caribbean and the Indian Ocean regions and the Dominican Republic).
- Last week, Altice completed the financial transaction that combined SFR and Numericable. Vivendi received EUR 13.366 billion in cash of which EUR 200 million will be contributed to the financing of the acquisition of Virgin Mobile by Numericable Group. The amount of EUR 13.166 billion will be subject to an accounting analysis to confirm the estimated amount of net indebtedness, in accordance with the contract. Vivendi will keep a 20% stake in the new combined entity, which it will be free to sell after a one-year lock-up period, subject to Altice’s pre-emption right.
- Numericable currently has over 5.2 million fiber homes in France, with more than 10 million homes passed. SFR has 3G/4G mobile networks in France as well as 1.6 million fiber homes.
- Patrick Drahi, founder and Chairman of the Altice group, parent company to Numericable, said: “By bringing together SFR and Numericable we will create the French champion in very high speed broadband and in the convergence of fixed and mobile networks. This is a trend throughout the sector, borne out across Europe and around the world. Our project, which is founded upon perfectly complementary networks and skillsets, will generate strong growth, which in turn will create jobs and stimulate investment.”
