Altice Europe To Save 110 Million Euros Annually Via Debt Deal

Telecoms and cable company Altice Europe will save more than 110 million euros (94 million pounds) annually after refinancing debt in a deal that it said would strengthen its financial position.

The company, whose brands include SFR in France, said it had successfully priced and allocated 2.8 billion euros worth of new 8-year senior bond notes at its Altice Luxembourg SA unit following an offering that was oversubscribed.

Altice Europe, founded by billionaire Patrick Drahi, has been selling assets and restructuring to reduce its debt burden.

It announced last month that profits at its main French business had improved in the first quarter.

In the past year, Amsterdam-listed Altice Europe has shifted its focus from cost-cutting towards gaining clients while selling infrastructure assets to reassure investors, after making heavy investments in broadcasting rights.

Altice Europe had net debts of around 29 billion euros at the end of 2018. The company has a current stock market capitalisation of around 5.2 billion euros.

“This refinancing transaction demonstrates Altice Europe’s commitment to proactively managing its liabilities across its capital structure, significantly improving its maturity schedule, reducing its gross leverage and moving closer to its leverage target while reducing its annual cash cost,” said Altice Europe chief financial officer Malo Corbin.

“We continue to receive strong support from the debt capital markets to execute on our strategy and achieve our revenue and cash flow growth targets for 2019,” added Corbin.

Shares in Altice Europe dipped 1.1 percent, tracking a broader decline on global markets after U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly jacked up pressure on China to reach a trade deal in the midst of negotiations.―NY Times