Altice to Buy US Cable Operator Suddenlink

PARIS (AP) — Altice SA says it’s buying a controlling stake in Suddenlink Communications in a deal that values the Missouri-based cable TV provider at $9.1 billion. The Luxembourg-based cable and mobile phone operator says in a statement Wednesday it will purchase 70 percent of Suddenlink with a combined debt and cash offer from existing owners BC Partners and CPP Investment Board, and company management. Suddenlink serves cable subscribers in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The deal marks Altice’s entry into the U.S. market. It already has operations in France, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, Israel and elsewhere. It expects the deal to be completed by the end of the year.