Altice surges after buying controlling stake in Suddenlink

Shares in French cable group Altice surged 7% on Wednesday after the company said it has agreed to buy 70% of US regional cable company Suddenlink Communications from existing shareholders BC Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment in a $9.1bn deal.

The deal will mark Altice’s first venture across the Atlantic, where Suddenlink is the seventh largest US cable operator, with 1.5m residential and 90,000 business customers.

Chief executive officer Dexter Goel said: “"We are very excited about the acquisition of Suddenlink and are highly committed to continue to improve network investment, customer offers and service innovation in the attractive US market.”

“Our investment in Suddenlink, our first in the cable sector in the US, opens an attractive industrial and strategic avenue for Altice in the US, one of the largest and fastest growing communications markets in the world,” he added.

Commenting on the news, Societe Generale said: “The latest moves reinforce comments made by management on its first quarter results call that it would remain pro-active in using any balance sheet flexibility to pursue strategic initiatives.”