Altice Portugal Draws Interest from Blackstone, CVC

(Bloomberg) -- Altice Europe NV’s Portuguese unit is drawing initial interest from Blackstone Inc. and CVC Capital Partners as it reviews its operations in the country, people familiar with the matter said. 

Investment firms Apollo Global Management Inc. and EQT AB and Spanish telecom operator Masmovil Ibercom SA are also among potential bidders for the business, which could be valued at about 7 billion euros ($8.2 billion) in any deal, the people said. 

Altice is working with an adviser to explore a range of options for its business in Portugal, which includes the mobile and fixed-line service provider MEO, and no final decision on whether to pursue a divestment have been taken, according to the people. Altice may also decide to keep the business, they said.

A representative for Altice said the business in Portugal is not for sale. Representatives for Blackstone, CVC, EQT and Masmovil declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Apollo couldn’t immediately comment.

Altice has offloaded a number of infrastructure assets in Portugal in recent years, selling mobile towers to Cellnex SA and fiber networks to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.

Any money raised from further divestment in the country could help Altice’s founder and owner Patrick Drahi in his pursuit of Eutelsat Communications SA, the French satellite operator. Eutelsat confirmed last month it had rejected a bid from Drahi that valued it at 2.8 billion euros. Analysts expect the billionaire businessman to sweeten his offer.

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