France-based telecom operator Altice is likely to sell stake in its telecom tower business to private equity firm KKR as part of the strategy to reduce debt and reshape its European operations, Reuters reported.
KKR, according to sources, will use its infrastructure fund to pick up minority equity stake in Altice’s towers subsidiary in France.
Altice will be selling non-core assets involving telecoms towers in France and Portugal and its operations in the Dominican Republic. Altice’s debt equals more than twice its annual revenues due to acquisitions in several telecom markets.
Patrick Drahi, the founder of Altice, has committed to shift the company’s focus from large acquisitions to sales growth and debt management.
The group’s French masts could be valued at about 4 billion euros, according to estimates by RBC analysts, representing a multiple of 20 times its core earnings.
Altice’s SFR division has around 20,000 tower sites in France though some of these assets belong to a joint venture with French mobile service provider Bouygues.
KKR last year bought a 40 percent stake in Telefonica’s telecom masts subsidiary Telxius for 1.3 billion euros.
As part of the Telxius deal, KKR also gained significant exposure to an international network with approximately 65,000 kilometers of submarine fiber optic cables.
Altice’s reorganization, which involves the spin-off of Altice’s U.S. arm, is expected to complete toward the end of June and proceeds from the various auctions will be used to cut debt which rose to around $60 billion following a series of big ticket deals.
Patrick Drahi spent $28 billion in 2015 to buy cable companies Suddenlink and Cablevision in the United States. In addition, Patrick Drahi tried to buy US-based cable giant Charter for $185 billion.
