Telecoms holding Altice is negotiating the acquisition of Oi’s Portuguese operations, a person familiar with the situation told TelecomFinance.
It is understood that the Luxembourg-based company has mandated Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to advise…
Telecoms holding Altice is negotiating the acquisition of Oi’s Portuguese operations, a person familiar with the situation told TelecomFinance.
It is understood that the Luxembourg-based company has mandated Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to advise it on a potential deal. It reportedly expects to reach an agreement within weeks.
In a securities filing today, Brazilian telecoms operator Oi said it has not taken any decision yet regarding the sale of Portugal Telecom (PT), stressing that it has not received an offer for the asset. It, however, said it is still continuing with its strategy to dispose of non-core assets including Africatel, for which it has not received a bid either.
Oi is in the process of completing its merger with PT, which it agreed to acquire in October 2013. The Portuguese incumbent, which has a market cap of €1.46bn (US$1.83bn), has reportedly already transferred its local assets to the Brazilian partner, retaining a minority stake in the combined entity.
Deal talks between Altice and PT would therefore need to involve Oi and establish how much debt PT would retain. In early September, Oi and PT revised the terms of their merger, following Rioforte’s default on a €847m (US$1.1bn) debt payment to the Portuguese operator which forced it to reduce its stake in the combined entity from 37.4% to 25.6%.
Owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi, Altice already has a presence in the Portuguese market through telecoms operator Oni, which it acquired in June 2013, and cableco Cabovisao, which it bought in February 2012 from Canada’s Cogeco.
During an earnings conference call on 7 August, Altice’s CEO Dexter Goei said the company would continue to monitor the situation in Portugal.
“There continues to be several steps that this can play out, particularly as the Brazilian consolidation play is just starting to get rolling,” he noted.
He also pointed out that Altice would explore opportunities in all the markets where it operates.
The holding is currently seeking regulatory approval for the merger between its French cableco Numericable and local mobile operator SFR, which it agreed to acquire from Vivendi in April.
Besides Portugal and France, Altice owns a portfolio of telecoms assets in Belgium, French overseas territories, Israel, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Altice and Oi declined to comment while Portugal Telecom did not respond to a request for comment.
