Latest news with #AlticeFranceSA
Bloomberg
14-03-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
‘Dash for Trash' Is Hottest Trade in Squeezed Junk Bond Market
At first glance, Atos SE 's bonds aren't the most obvious buy. The company has recently emerged from a grueling restructuring — the result of a long-running debt crisis that saw its shares lose almost all of their value. But the French IT firm's debt has been some of the best performing in Europe's high-yield market this year. Three bonds that were issued as part of Atos's restructuring — two of which sit in the lowest bracket of junk ratings — have rallied strongly. Other low-rated junk bonds issued by troubled companies, including Altice France SA and car parts supplier Standard Profil Automotive GmbH, have also done well.
Bloomberg
03-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Altice France's Unhappy Creditors Tap Advisers to Improve Terms
A group of secured creditors of Altice France SA, unhappy with the deal arranged between the company and a majority of its creditors to cut about €8.6 billion ($9 billion) of debt, have tapped advisers to find ways to improve their terms, according to people familiar with the matter. These creditors — which hold debt maturing in 2028 and 2029 — are working with law firm Ashurst LLP and boutique French advisory firm Ceres Partners. They weren't part of the steering committee that led the negotiations, but had signed a cooperation agreement preventing them from negotiating a separate deal with the company, said the people who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Altice France, Creditors in Deal That Keeps Drahi in Control
(Bloomberg) -- Altice France SA and a majority of its creditors reached an agreement to slash the company's debt by €8.6 billion ($9 billion), letting founder Patrick Drahi keep control of the cable and mobile-phone operator he built through years of acquisitions. The Trump Administration Takes Aim at Transportation Research Shelters Await Billions in Federal Money for Homelessness Providers NYC's Congestion Pricing Pulls In $48.6 Million in First Month New York's Congestion Pricing Plan Faces Another Legal Showdown NYC to Shut Migrant Center in Former Hotel as Crisis Eases The deal resolves one pressing issue between Drahi and the lenders who financed deals such as his 2014 purchase of French wireless company SFR. Altice France racked up a €24 billion debt load at a time of ultra-low interest rates, only to see bond holders turn queasy as borrowing costs rose and the business underperformed. The 61-year-old Franco-Israeli billionaire still has to find agreement with creditors on other fronts: His Altice USA business has been holding confidential discussions over how to address its debt pile. Meanwhile, talks are expected to kick off soon on Altice International, which operates in Portugal, Israel and the Dominican Republic. 'It is impressive to see that Drahi managed to retain control of the entity here,' said Vincent Benguigui, a high-yield portfolio manager at Federated Hermes. 'The situation makes credit more palatable. It will probably attract many high-yield investors back.' Secured creditors including BlackRock Inc., Elliott Investment Management and Pacific Investment Management Co. will get a minority equity stake in Altice France while Drahi will own 55%, according to a statement confirming a Bloomberg News report from Tuesday. Unsecured creditors also will get equity. Altice France's bonds rose following the announcement. The 5.875% secured bonds due in 2027 gained more than 5 cents to 90, while the unsecured notes due in February 2028 gained more than 2 cents to 30, according to Bloomberg pricing. The deal caps a tumultuous year. Altice France told creditors in March last year they would need to accept a lower value for their bonds to reduce the company's leverage to below four times its earnings, and that it had shifted assets outside of their reach, which could potentially be used as part of a negotiation. The bonds sold off as creditors became concerned about potential maneuvers by Drahi that could hinder their position. However, eventually the parties aligned on a consensual deal, for what remains one of the largest junk-rated corporate debt piles in Europe. The agereement puts governance checks in place and tighter rules regulating the debt contracts. Meanwhile, on top of the extra protection, creditors get some equity and cash to compensate them for writing off a part of the debt. A committee of Altice France's secured creditors agreed to work as a group rather than negotiate a side deal with Drahi. It was one of the first of this kind of pacts in Europe - and so far the largest. Under the agreement, they will receive a cash repayment of about €1.5 billion plus accrued interest and an aggregate equity stake of 31%, according to the statement. About 77% of the firm's existing debt load will remain in some form, albeit with longer maturities and higher borrowing costs. Read more from 2017: Debt King Drahi Built a Cable Empire on Credit. Now What? Meanwhile, unsecured creditors, which include London-based credit investment manager Arini, will also get a cash repayment — albeit lower than the secured creditors — and an aggregate equity stake of 14%. Other members of the unsecured group include Rokos Capital Management, Castleknight Management, Finepoint Capital and T. Rowe Price, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Representatives for Arini and Rokos declined to comment, while the rest didn't respond to requests for comment. The company also agreed to put back within creditors' reach assets it had moved elsewhere. To implement the deal, Altice France will use French court proceedings plus a Luxembourg reorganization or a US Chapter 11 filing for the holding company that issued the unsecured debt. Altice France is now asking all remaining creditors to sign up to the deal. Here's a look at some of the key terms: --With assistance from Abhinav Ramnarayan. (Updates to add names of unsecured creditors in 13th paragraph. Earlier versions of this story corrected the amount of unsecured debt to be reinstated and the names of unsecured creditors.) Trump's SALT Tax Promise Hinges on an Obscure Loophole Warner Bros. Movie Heads Are Burning Cash, and Their Boss Is Losing Patience Walmart Wants to Be Something for Everyone in a Divided America China Learned to Embrace What the US Forgot: The Virtues of Creative Destruction Meet Seven of America's Top Personal Finance Influencers ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
27-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
A Telecoms Tycoon Teaches the Bond Market a Lesson
Who'd have thought? Tycoon Patrick Drahi has pulled off a colossal restructuring of his debt-laden French telecoms empire, emerging as the victor. The debt market has been taught a lesson here, one it needs to remember for years to come. Altice France SA, owner of the SFR telecoms network, has €24 billion ($25 billion) of net debt and it's touch-and-go whether this is sustainable. In 2023, Drahi said he'd reduce borrowings by selling assets and buying back bonds trading below face value. Then came last March's shocking revision to the strategy: Altice wanted to cut debt more rapidly; investors would now likely be forced to bear losses. After months of talks, a majority of both senior and subordinated creditors agreed to rejig their claims on Wednesday.
