Altice USA is exploring the sale of its Suddenlink unit, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Altice USA is said to be working with Goldman Sachs Group on the potential sale, which could fetch as much as USD20 billion. The companies have already begun soliciting interest from potential suitors, although Altice could still decide to keep the division. If a sale comes to fruition, Altice is expected to use the proceeds to pay down its massive debt load.
While Altice USA did not respond to the article, Bloomberg supports the story with a recent quote from Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei, who admitted that the company was open to trading, swapping or selling certain assets. The chief executive told attendees at an investor conference in May: ‘Suddenlink in itself is a great asset – great growth matrices, under-penetrated markets, less-competitive areas because they’re very rural, but strategically is not a footprint that makes you just sit there and say, “Wow, I’ve got the most strategic footprint out there.”’
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Altice USA was formed in June 2016, following the completion of Altice Group’s USD17.7 billion acquisition of Cablevision Systems (trading as Optimum). Previously, in December 2015, Altice closed the USD9.1 billion takeover of Suddenlink. Suddenlink’s footprint spans a number of western, midwestern and southern states, including: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.