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Altice Europe, founded by billionaire Patrick Drahi, originally
aimed to sell the network by the second quarter of this year to
reduce its debt, which in 2018 represented more than double its
annual revenue.
The Amsterdam-listed group has flipped its strategy from
cost-cutting toward gaining clients and selling infrastructure
assets in a bid to reduce debt and raise its stock price.
Without naming any potential buyers, Altice Portugal CEO
Alexandre Fonseca said the number of interested investors
dropped to just two in August from 10-12 in mid-March but
"various" new players have now entered the market with "very
interesting, concrete proposals".
Fonseca has described the network as "valuable" but did not
estimate a sale price.
Drahi said on a conference call on Wednesday that some bidders
had made "firm offers" but declined to provide a timetable for a
sale.
Fonseca told reporters on Thursday a sale is expected "very
soon" but the firm is in "no rush."
The network business serves 4.8 million Portuguese homes and
aims to cover 5.3 million by next year. The company expects to
launch three or four new projects in the coming months which aim
to diversify its revenue stream, Fonseca said.
It is also "actively pursuing" expanding into digital services,
capitalizing on the firm's 40% market share in mobile networks.
Altice Portugal released its third-quarter results on Wednesday,
reporting a 2.1% increase in revenue to 536 million euros.
Quarter-on-quarter revenue growth slowed to 1.8% from 3.4% in
the second quarter but remained above the market rate of 0.7%.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; editing by Catarina Demony and
Jason Neely)
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