Altice will be buying all of the shares with cash.
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Patrick Drahi, founder and president of Altice, said in the press release that they “look forward to continuing the pioneering path” that the Dolan family, owner of Cablevision, have paved for Altice. Through its local media and programming properties – News 12 Networks and Newsday Media Group – Cablevision also delivers news and information created specifically for the communities it serves.
During a call with market analysts, Altice CEO Dexter Goei said the ongoing expansion of the company in the US focused on the Northeast as customer there seem more willing to pay for the premium services.
In talks that began in June, Mr Drahi managed to convince Charles Dolan, the patriarch of the Irish-American family that owns Cablevision, to part with the asset it had long said it would not sell.
It struck a deal to buy U.S. cable group Suddenlink earlier this year, and considered a deal with Time Warner Cable. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2016 following all the necessary regulatory approvals.
The company, run by French billionaire Patrick Drahi, has already made moves to establish a presence in the US cable market.
“In the broader USA multichannel picture, the combined companies would crack the top 10 but control less than 4 percent of the overall video subscription share”, says SNL Kagan analyst Ian Olgeirson. The Times valued the deal at $17.7 billion, including debt, while the Journal said $16.7 billion.
Once consolidated, the merged Cablevision-Suddenlink entity will be the fourth largest U.S. cableco by subscribers, Altice claims.
Cablevision is the leading player in the New York metropolitan area, with networks covering New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut, a zone of high population density but one that is intensely competitive. AT&T recently closed on its purchase of DirecTV and Charter acquired Time Warner in two of the latest consolidations.
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The deal was struck Wednesday, when Cablevision entered into a “definitive agreement” with Altice, according to the European company.
