Altice SFR France - comment

Earlier this month, we noted that the start of the year was likely to bring renewed speculation around asset disposals by Patrick Drahi and the Altice group. This has materialised with fresh market reports today suggesting a potential sale of XpFibre, the French fibre-to-the-home infrastructure business in which Altice holds a controlling 50.1% stake.

According to press reports, financial advisers have circulated teasers for the asset, with a formal sale process expected to commence in the coming weeks. Valuation indications are around €9bn enterprise value for the business, including approximately €5bn of debt at the group level. The remaining stake in XpFibre is held by a consortium led by OMERS Infrastructure, Allianz Capital Partners and AXA.