Drahi’s Masterstroke: SFR Sale Looms as €24 Billion Debt Slashed in Historic Deal

More than 10 years after its acquisition by Patrick Drahi, the sale of SFR is taking shape. The Altice group, SFR’s parent company, announced at the end of May that it would be entering an accelerated safeguard procedure. One more step in the long process of financial restructuring of its 24 billion euros of debt. It was a formality, as the group’s creditors had massively adopted the restructuring plan negotiated with Patrick Drahi’s teams several weeks ago. It consists of a reduction by these creditors of the debt by 8.6 billion euros, in exchange for an increase in their stake in the capital. A victory for the Altice president.

Drahi thus signs the end of a long period of uncertainty that should end with the sale of the group in the fall, notes Décideurs Magazine, noting that "after ten months of tough negotiations, the entrepreneur has managed to convince no less than seventeen funds, mainly American, to trust him again." The billionaire has ceded nearly half of the capital of Altice France, and these funds now hold nearly half of the group’s debt. Drahi still manages to retain control of the company.

In a way, the French operator "becomes a normal company again," rejoices an observer of the case with Echos.