Altice raises €2.5 billion by flogging some towers

Debt-riddled French telco conglomerate Altice has raised some much-needed cash by selling stakes in two of its tower holdings to private equity.

The the total cash consideration is €2.5 billion, with KKR getting half the French towers business, while three quarters of the Portuguese towers business are being snapped up by Morgan Stanley and Horizon. There is much talk of what a good deal this is and how it will enable the relevant bits of Altice to focus on their core stuff, but this is all about eating into its massive debt pile in a bid to repair the catastrophic damage it experienced last year.

“I am enthusiastic about creating new tower partnerships in France and Portugal,” said Altice founder Patrick Drahi. “With KKR, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Horizon Equity Partners, we have found long-term partners of the highest-quality who share our vision to invest in leading infrastructure and growth opportunities.

“We will create a leading European tower business, including the number one in France. Both tower businesses will be uniquely positioned to grow as they provide increasingly important infrastructure services to operators in both markets. Simultaneously, these transactions underline our commitment to delever and proactively manage our balance sheet while highlighting the significant underlying value of Altice Europe’s business.”

If Drahi hoped this move alone would have a profound effect on Altice’s share price he must feel pretty disappointed as it has been met with a distinct shrug. The French tower joint venture is called SFR TowerCo, but Altice stock is far more sensitive to the fortunes of the SFR telecoms business than a few towers, and that remains a challenge. You can read further analysis of the move at Light Reading here.