Altice France, Creditors in Deal That Keeps Drahi in Control
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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 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.