Altice ups SFR stake

Altice has increased its stake in fellow French telecommunications company SFR to more than 95 per cent and plans to make an offer to buy out the remaining shares.

Altice plans to offer €34.50 ($40.70) per share to acquire the outstanding shares.

SFR’s sports-rights portfolio in France includes football’s English Premier League, rugby union’s English Premiership and the domestic Pro A men’s top-tier basketball competition.

Last year Altice was blocked by French stock market regulator the AMF in its attempts to secure full control of its SFR subsidiary. Altice has maintained that the deal should be allowed to go ahead and has informed the AMF of its latest intentions.

Last week the Reuters news agency reported that Altice is in preliminary talks to make a takeover bid for US telco Charter Communications.