Telenet closes SFR acquisition

Liberty Global-backed Belgian cable operator Telenet has closed the acquisition of Altice’s Belgian assets, following approval by the Belgian competition watchdog.

Telenet and Altice signed an agreement for the former to acquire Coditel Braband and subsidiary Coditel S.à.r.l, collectively known as SFR BeLux, in January.

Telenet is pay ing €400 million on a cash and debt-free basis for SFR BeLux, to be be financed by a combination of equity and available liquidity under the company’s revolving credit facilities. Telenet’s financing vehicle has drawn down €120 million and €90 million respectively under two revolving credit facilities, with the remainder to be financed with equity. Telenet will use the future cash flows for early repayment of its outstanding liabilities under these revolving credit facilities.

The acquisition of SFR BeLux will extend Telenet’s presence from Flanders to Brussels, French-speaking Wallonia and Luxembourg. Coditel operates under the SFR brand, providing cable services in Brussels, Wallonia and Luxembourg as well as mobile telephony services in Belgium through an MVNO agreement with BASE, the former KPN subsidiary acquired by Telenet earlier in 2016.