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Cable group planned to take full control of French mobile arm; may appeal AMF decision.
Altice has hit out at the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) after the French stock market regulator blocked its proposal to take full control of mobile operator SFR.
In a statement last week, the acquisitive cable group said the decision "goes against the interests of both companies, their shareholders and employees."
In early September, Altice made an offer for the remaining 22.25% of French mobile operator SFR it does not already own, and unveiled a plan to implement a group strategy – called the ‘Altice Way’ – that spans its various operations.
Under the proposed all-stock deal, minority SFR shareholders would have received eight new Altice class A shares for every five ordinary SFR shares. The deal valued the SFR stake at around €2.46 billion.
Altice said its offer represented an opportunity for SFR shareholders to diversify into higher growth markets with structural and competitive advantages, particularly in the U.S., where Altice owns cablecos Suddenlink and Cablevision.
However, according to Reuters the AMF said Altice did not provide sufficient information to SFR’s minority shareholders.
The watchdog said it was not possible to consider that the information provided was "complete, intelligible, and consistent" with French regulations.
"As a result of the AMF decision, the [SFR] offer is terminated, but Altice reserves the right to file an appeal with the court of appeal of Paris against the decision of the AMF, which it believes was made in breach of applicable stock market regulations," Altice said.
