Faced with 200 Altice creditors that have joined forces to bring pressure to the debt negotiations, JP Morgan, advising Patrick Drahi, offered to buy back their debt holdings at between 60% and 70% of its value. This “aggressive proposal” is unlikely to be accepted, according to one observer.
Patrick Drahi yesterday (August 12) announced the sale of his 24.5% stake in BT to Bharti. The stake is estimated to be worth £3.18bn (€3.72bn) according to Bloomberg, which would represent a loss of around €1.2bn for Drahi.
While regulatory constraints may have played a role in the decision to exit BT, Drahi is above all being forced to reduce Altice’s €60bn debt pile. While the first maturities are not until 2025, the group will then have to repay €1.65bn, followed by €1.33bn in 2026, with the pressure mounting in 2027 when €5.49bn is due, then €9.4bn in 2028 and €6.3bn in 2029.
Drahi has carried out several asset sales in recent months to give himself more breathing space. The BT transaction follows the divestment of Altice Media in June for €1.55bn to Rodolphe Saade, and the sale of Teads to Outbrain for $1bn, as well as a minority stake in Sotheby’s to the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund for a similar amount.
But it is not certain that the proceeds of these actions will be used solely to repay debt. Drahi announced that Altice Media and the data centres, which he had sold in November 2023, would be put in a holding company above Altice France – in other words, out of reach of his creditors. The latter, in response, had threatened to take control of Altice France by exchanging the debt for shares. The standoff is set to last.
Challenges, August 13, 2024 – Francois Vaneeckhoutte.
LFI reporters
