Client call "Altice: What is Patrick Drahi worth?"

Altice and Patrick Drahi headlines continue to come thick and fast: the latest being corruption allegations against Altice co-founder Armando Pereira, and rumours that Drahi will take his stake in BT to 29.9%. Away from the noise, we think that most fundamental focus currently is on the performance of the businesses, and funding options. In a report this week, we took another look at the inorganic options for SFR and Altice International, and did some new work assessing Patrick Drahi’s personal wealth. We think that through a combination of his personal liquid wealth, and asset sales, the 2025 bonds, 2026 bonds and probably even the 2027 bonds can be redeemed if necessary. Having said which, re-financing rates are not yet at the stage where the businesses are at risk of entering a debt spiral, and we see delevering even if all debt is refinanced at current YTWs. We also wouldn’t totally rule out a personal purchase of the unsecured bonds at SFR.