News
European cable group expects to close $17.7 billion deal before the end of this month.
Altice has secured the approval of New York state regulators for its planned acquisition of Cablevision, clearing the way for it to close the deal in the next couple of weeks.
New York State Public Service Commission gave the green light to the US$17.7 billion deal Altice announced in September, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The approval sees the European cable group over the final regulatory hurdle. It said it expects to close the acquisition by the end of the month, the newswire reported.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the deal in May.
Conditions attached to the deal by the New York regulators include the requirement for Altice to pass on 25% of the estimated $450 million in cost savings it expects to generate from the deal to subscribers over the next five years. The operator will also be barred from shedding employees in customer-facing roles in New York for four years, Reuters said.
Cablevision has 3.1 million subscribers, mainly in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, it added.
Cablevision is Altice’s second major cable acquisition in the U.S. It completed the $9.1 billion purchase of Suddenlink in December.
