, Columnists
A Cable Billionaire Who Won't Take No For an Answer
Altice probably came out ahead on its SFR standoff.
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Billionaire Patrick Drahi isn't the kind of person to let pesky regulators get in his way. Less than a year after French market watchdogs blocked a first offer on procedural grounds, his telecoms group Altice NV is close to taking full ownership of its biggest European unit, SFR Group SA.
Altice says it will pay 34.50 euros per share in cash to the holdouts who own 4.1 percent of SFR's share capital. They won't have a choice but to sell this time since this is a mandatory squeeze-out, triggered when Altice crossed the 95 percent ownership threshold in August.