Altice buys Cablevision for $18 billion
Amsterdam-based Altice has inked a deal to acquire Cablevision for almost $18 billion. Altice entered the US market four months ago when it purchased cable company Suddenlink, and the Cablevision acquisition, if approved, would create the fourth largest cable operator in the United States, only slightly behind Cox.
Altice will pay $34.90 per share – an equity value of $9.6 billion and roughly $17.7 billion including the company’s debt – for Cablevision, which currently has a market value of $7.9 billion. Cablevision is the fifth-largest US cable company, serving 3.1 million New York customers across its video, voice, and high-speed data services, and generating $6.5 billion in revenue in 2014.
The purchase and asset transfer requires regulatory review. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will examine the acquisition to ensure it is in the public interest, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will ensure compliance with anti-trust laws, and New York City will review the transfer of the cable franchise. The FCC and DOJ have reviewed a number of large mergers and acquisitions recently, approving AT&T’s purchase of DirecTV in July, shutting down Comcast’s purchase of Time-Warner Cable (TWC), and currently reviewing a Charter/TWC deal.
Cablevision Issues Statement on Acquisition of Cablevision by Altice (Business Wire, Sept. 17, 2015)
Big cable deal: Altice buys Cablevision (CNN Money, Sept. 17, 2015)
Altice in Advanced Talks to Buy Cablevision (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 16, 2015)
Altice to Buy Cablevision for $10 Billion (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 17, 2015)
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