Cable group Altice plans IPO to raise £623 million
PARIS (Reuters) - Altice, which owns French and Belgian cable companies as well as mobile operations in Israel, plans to list its shares on Amsterdam's NYSE Euronext with the aim of raising 750 million euros (£623.36 million) to cut debt and fund its development.
The company, founded by entrepreneur Patrick Drahi and built via a decade of acquisitions, is seeking to surf on a wave of investor interest in the European cable sector, which has pushed valuations higher and made several of its companies takeover targets for telecom rivals.
Consumers are increasingly turning to cable for television and high-speed broadband, which is often faster and cheaper than offers from telecom companies.
The initial public offering (IPO) will include an issue of new shares by the company and a sale of existing shares by Next LP, a holding company owned by Drahi. The company will have a free float of about 25 percent before the exercise of any over-allotment option.
Altice also owns 40 percent of French cable company Numericable , which went public in November and whose shares have risen 10 percent since then.
Shortly afterwards, Altice agreed to buy the mobile business of Orange in the Dominican Republic, as well as a local cable operator to enter a new market.
Altice's IPO presentation published on Tuesday highlighted a potential pipeline of acquisitions in cable and telecom that could create value for shareholders in the coming years.
"We have a strong track record on acquisitions," said Chief Executive Dexter Goei on a conference call.
In the nine months ended September, Altice's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, and depreciation were 1.02 billion euros, giving it a margin of 42.3 percent.
Revenues in the same period grew 1.1 percent to 2.4 billion euros, with France and Israel providing 70 percent of sales.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the joint global coordinators for the IPO.
(Reporting by Leila Abboud; Editing by Mark John and Mark Potter)
