Altice SFR - comment

The FT have a puff piece out on behalf of Altice SFR or their bondholders, reporting that the Company are seeking to relaunch the sales process for its controlling stake in XpFibre. The headline quotes an ambitious €10 bn valuation, versus previous reported numbers of €7-8 bn. There is no doubt that there will be interested buyers, but the price gap proved too big previously, and there is no guarantee that the process will be successful this time. 

We would question whether Drahi/Altice actually wants to sell the asset anyway. There is some speculation that, with the restructuring nearly completed, there is limited pressure on the Company to complete.