Yahoo Finance An Update on Altice’s Cablevision Transaction
An Update on Altice's Cablevision Acquisition
Altice’s Cablevision transaction
Altice (ATCEY) continues to see progress in its Cablevision (CVC) deal. According to a report by Bloomberg, “Staff for New York state regulators recommended approval of Altice NV’s $17.7 billion takeover of Cablevision Systems Corp., making it likely the deal will close this quarter.”
The report also said, “The state’s Public Service Commission, which rarely opposes recommendations from staff, is scheduled to vote on the transaction on June 16. Its approval is the last major hurdle for the deal.”
According to the report, one of the recommended conditions by the panel is “Altice retaining ‘customer-facing jobs’ — including call-center representatives and service technicians — for four years.” Another is “that one-fourth of the $450 million in estimated cost savings from the deal be passed on to customers.”
Some pricing details of Altice’s recent deals in the US cable space
Altice signed the agreement for the acquisition of Cablevision in September 2015. The Cablevision transaction was the second of Altice’s expansions in the US cable industry.
In December 2015, Altice completed the acquisition of Suddenlink Communications. According to Altice, the transaction value of this deal was ~$9.1 billion.
Solid cable consolidation in the US
Another merger in the US cable space that was recently approved by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in May 2016 was the Charter Communications (CHTR), Time Warner Cable (TWC), and Bright House merger, which was completed on May 18, 2016. The combined company became the second-largest player in the US cable space after Comcast (CMCSA) (CMCSK).
For diversified exposure to some of the largest cable companies in the United States, you may want to consider investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The ETF held a total of ~0.88% in Comcast (CMCSA) and Cablevision (CVC) on May 20, 2016.
Browse this series on Market Realist:
