by Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS (Reuters) – Altice, the media and telecoms group of Patrick Drahi, has mandated at least four investment banks to carry out a review of its assets in Europe in order to carry out possible disposals to reduce its debt, a we learned Thursday from a source familiar with the matter.

This review, entrusted in particular to Lazard, BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, includes some of the group’s main assets in Europe, including SFR, the second largest telecom operator in France, the source said.

Altice’s subsidiaries in Portugal and the Dominican Republic, as well as the advertising company Teads, are also concerned, added this source, who requested anonymity.

Altice, Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas declined to comment on the subject. Spokespersons for Lazard and Goldman Sachs were not immediately available.

Patrick Drahi pledged last month to reduce the debt of Altice France, one of three entities in his media and telecoms empire, by raising three billion euros ($3.2 billion)” either way”.

The total debt of the group amounts to 60 billion dollars.

This urgent need for funds via possible disposals comes as Altice was weakened this summer by the arrest in Portugal on suspicion of corruption of Patrick Drahi’s main collaborator, Armando Pereira, which risks shaking investor confidence. in the financial strength of the group.

Armando Pereira denies all charges against him.

Patrick Drahi told investors in August that he felt “shocked” and “betrayed” following the investigation in Portugal, which led to the suspension of 15 employees in that country, France and the States. States but also contracts with dozens of suppliers.

The businessman is already close to an agreement with Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure fund to sell it all or part of its 92 data centers in France, valued at one billion euros, the daily Les Echos reported on Wednesday. .

(Report Mathieu Rosemain, Bertrand Boucey, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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