Cable consolidator Altice (AMS:ATC) is moving out of acquisition mode to concentrate on integrating its recent acquisitions, CEO Dexter Goei has said.
Cable consolidator Altice (AMS:ATC) is moving out of acquisition mode to concentrate on integrating its recent acquisitions, CEO Dexter Goei (pictured) has said.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Goei said Netherlands-based Altice owed its “investors, both on the debt and equity side, to pause on the pace of the acquisitions, particularly on the sizable ones”.
The executive did, however, note that there was one target it could make an exception for.
“The only thing that would make us scratch our heads is if Cox came up and said ‘I’m going to auction my business,’” Goei told the newswire.
Otherwise, he said Altice could halt acquisitions for up to two years as it looks to deleverage and cut costs at recently-acquired US cablecos Suddenlink and Cablevision.
In the wake of the Cablevision announcement, Patrick Drahi, the cable maverick who controls Altice, said it would look at acquiring more US cable systems in future and may look to buy a mobile operator further down the line.
This week Altice reportedly launched a US$6.3bn bond offering to help finance its acquisition of Cablevision.
Altice has said the planned cash-and-stock deal values Cablevision at US$17.7bn, including debt, and will create the fourth-largest cableco in the US. According to data from S&P Capital IQ, the cash consideration to shareholders totals US$9.7bn.