Telecoms and cable group Altice strikes debt refinancing deal

PARIS (Reuters) - Altice, the acquisitive telecoms and cable group founded by billionaire Patrick Drahi, announced on Monday a debt refinancing deal which it said would lead to cost savings on interest payments and extend its debt maturity.

The company’s Altice International and SFR divisions priced 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) of new term loans, while Altice International also priced 675 million euros of senior unsecured notes with a coupon of 4.75 percent.

“This latest refinancing transaction totalling 4 billion euros, plus a record low for a new unsecured 10-year bond at 4.75 percent, again demonstrates Altice’s commitment to proactively manage its liabilities across every credit pool, significantly improving its maturity schedule as well as reducing interest costs,” said Altice Group chief financial officer Dennis Okhuijsen in a statement.