PARIS— Altice SA on Wednesday said it would buy a controlling stake in U.S. cable company Suddenlink in a deal valued at $ 9.1 billion, catapulting the fast-expanding European telecom and cable group into one of the world's largest communications markets.
Altice, controlled by French cable investor Patrick Drahi, said it would acquire 70% of Suddenlink from the company's owners, private-equity firm BC Partners and CPP Investment Board. The deal value includes debt.
The two existing shareholders will retain a 30% stake in the cable firm, Altice said.
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that Altice was in advanced talks to buy Suddenlink and that a deal could be announced as early as this week. The Journal also reported Tuesday that Altice is separately eyeing Time Warner Cable Inc., the No. 2 U.S. cable operator by subscribers, citing people familiar with the situation.
"Our investment in Suddenlink, our first in the cable sector in the U.S., opens an attractive industrial and strategic avenue for Altice in the U.S., one of the largest and fastest-growing communications markets in the world," Altice Chief Executive Dexter Goei said in a statement.
The Suddenlink deal could be a first step for Altice in the U.S. as other cable operators are planning to consolidate the fragmented market.
Write to Ruth Bender at Ruth.Bender@wsj.com
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