The back and forth of proposals between Altice France and its ad hoc group of secured creditors continues, but negotiations between the two parties look to be nearing a conclusion, according to a source close to the situation.
Negotiations are ongoing around the size of the equity stake that the creditors will receive as part of the deal, with the AHG still pushing for something nearer 30%.
Other areas under discussion include governance rights and collateral as disclosed in the cleansing statement on November 14. These include the return of assets that were dropped out of creditors’ reach into unrestricted subsidiaries and the right to appoint independent board members.
A potential deal could result in creditors getting around ~27% of the equity, according to Mark Chapman, head of telecoms at CreditSights.
“I think Patrick [Drahi] will know he needs to give the creditor group negotiators a ‘win’ to get a deal agreed,” he said. This could mean a slightly higher equity percentage, perhaps ~27%, slightly closer to the AHG’s 34% proposal than Altice’s 18%, said Chapman, but it could also take the form of “stricter terms on collateral, governance, etc”.
Altice’s January bonds are understood to have been repaid at maturity on January 15, which pushed its February 2025 bonds up 2.5 points to 98.34, which was unchanged on Tuesday (January 21).
Altice and the ad hoc group have been in the second round of negotiations since December 10 when Altice tabled a new proposal. The two parties have been batting proposals and counter-proposals back and forth since then.
The two parties went back to the drawing board in mid-November, after failing to reach an agreement on how to manage the company’s ~€24bn debt pile.
Altice France published the cleansing statement after the talks ended, which disclosed that creditors had sought reinstated debt of ~€14.4bn, or 73.7 cents per €1 of Altice France secured debt, versus the ~€13.7bn or 70.2 cents tabled by the company. Creditors had also asked for 34% equity, versus 18% offered by Altice.
Altice declined to comment.
Sandrine Bradley
sandrine.bradley@levfininsights.com
+44 (0)20 3530 1824
