Altice International: Enormous Investments Capacity Comes Back to Bite
Kirsten Heenan, J.D. - Senior Covenant Analyst, Covenant Review
1 December 2025
Insights into Altice International’s Unrestricted Subsidiary Designations:
- Massive Asset Transfer Outside Restricted Group: Altice Portugal and Caribbean designations shifted approximately 80% of EBITDA outside bondholder protection.
- Structurally Senior Debt Priming Bondholders: 鈧�750 million senior debt raised with 鈧�2 billion additional capacity reserved for further priming.
- Decade-Long Build-Up Basket Without Ratio Test: Investment capacity accrued since 2012 totaling 鈧�13.5 billion, exempted from leverage ratio requirements for investments.
- Multiple Generous Investment Baskets Enable Dropdown: Additional investment capacity includes 鈧�700 million baskets and percentage-of-EBITDA carveouts across multiple provisions.
- Future Double-Dip and Asset Sale Flexibility: Unrestricted subsidiaries can loan proceeds to restricted group and be sold without Asset Sales covenant constraints.
The Bottom Line鈩�:
- Last Friday, Altice International announced it had designated Altice Portugal and Altice Caribbean as Unrestricted Subsidiaries, moving significant value out of the restricted group for its high yield bonds.
- The aggressive maneuver took advantage of the staggering amount of investment capacity under Altice International鈥檚 bonds, including a Restricted Payments build-up basket that has been accruing capacity for over a decade and importantly鈥攈as no ratio test for investments.
- Additionally, we review the key sources of investment capacity and explain the implications of the Unrestricted Subsidiary designations.
Overview
This year鈥檚 Black Friday turned into 鈥淏leak Friday鈥� for Altice International S.脿 r.l. (鈥淎ltice International鈥� or the 鈥淐ompany鈥�) investors when the Patrick Drahi-owned telecommunications giant announced that it had designated Altice Portugal S.A. (鈥淎ltice Portugal鈥�) and Altice Caribbean S.脿 r.l. (鈥淎ltice Caribbean鈥�) as Unrestricted Subsidiaries under each of Altice International鈥檚 debt documents.The Company also announced that a subsidiary of Altice Portugal had raised 鈧�750 million of structurally senior debt and that a further 鈧�2 billion of incremental debt capacity at Altice Portugal had been reserved.
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