Altice France - comment

Creditors remain heavily reliant on the proposed transaction going through, as the underlying SFR asset is continuing to deteriorate and, absent the deal, we would expect the debt to trade materially lower. Q2 was weak, with revenue down 8.7% and EBITDA down 12.9% to €681m, although management attributed much of the deterioration in customer KPIs to uncertainty around the sale, with churn increasing 2-5ppt following the April and June announcements. Management noted a slight inflection in fixed and mobile service revenue, but competition remains intense and visibility limited. On the sale process, discussions with the buyers are underway with the French competition authority, while management is reiterating its expectation for completion in H2 2027, broadly consistent with the authority’s indication of an 18-month process. Meanwhile, Altice is exploring disposals of the remaining assets, with discussions around its XPF stake at a more advanced stage, while the overseas operations and UltraEdge stake remain for sale but are not considered urgent.