Debt-laden Altice taps advisers including Goldman to review assets to sell -source

By Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS (Reuters) -Telecoms and cable group Altice has drafted in at least four investment banks to review its European assets amid a push to identify potential disposals to help cut debt, a person familiar with the matter said.

The review by the banks, including Lazard, BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, will involve some of Altice's major assets in the region, including SFR, France's second-biggest telecoms group, the person said.

Telecoms units in Portugal and the Dominican Republic, as well as advertising company Teads, will also be assessed, according to the person, who asked to remain anonymous because the plans are not public.

Altice, Morgan Stanley, Lazard, BNP and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Altice's owner and founder Patrick Drahi vowed last month to slash debts at Altice France, one of three entities in his sprawling media-to-cable empire, by raising 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) of equity, "one way or another."

Oddo BHF analyst Stephane Beyazian and Thomas Coudry of Bryan Garnier said European telecoms operators were now valued at between 4-5 times annual core earnings on average. However, the multiple was 7 for acquisitions of 100% of the shares, reflecting the premium usually applied when an asset is bought in full.

In the case of SFR, this would give a price range between 16 billion euros and more than 25 billion euros, since it reported 4.1 billion euros in core earnings last year.

"It would be difficult to find a buyer at this valuation, given SFR's difficulties and the fact that Drahi is a forced seller," Coudry said in reference to the top figure, citing declining sales and Altice France's whooping 23.9 billion-euro net debt at end of June.

Drahi's business partner was arrested in Portugal in July on corruption allegations, further shaking the debt-laden business and threatening to dent creditors' confidence in the group, which has combined debt of $60 billion.

The partner, Armando Pereira, has denied any wrongdoing.

The case has raised questions about internal controls and suppliers and added to the urgency for asset disposals in a context of rising interest rates.

Drahi told investors in August he felt "shocked" and "betrayed" by the ongoing corruption probe, which led to the suspension of 15 employees in Portugal, France and the United States and dozens of suppliers.

Altice is already close to a deal to sell its data centres in France to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, French newspaper Les Echos reported on Wednesday.

French business magazine Challenges and daily Le Monde earlier reported the names of the financial advisers chosen by Altice.

($1 = 0.9343 euros)

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Tomasz Janowski)