Altice has proposed buying out the remaining 22.25 percent of French operator it does not yet own. The company is offering eight new Altice class A shares for each five SFR shares, with no minimum acceptance threshold for the offer. The acquisition is part of a broader effort by Altice to streamline its operations in order to increase synergies across the group, including with its newly acquired US activities.
Altice said the offer also providers SFR's shareholders with a stake in a company with a greater free float and liquidity in its shares. SFR's board has approved the offer, after obtaining independent opinions deeming the offer fair in financial terms for minority shareholders.
The issue of new shares would represent an increase of 11.8 percent in Altice's outstanding capital. It aims to complete the takeover in the fourth quarter. The draft offer must still be approved by the stock market regulator before opening to shareholders.
Altice first acquired control of SFR in late 2014. In 2015, it bought Vivendi's remaining 20 percent in the French operator.
