By warning them on March 20 that they might not see all of their money again, Patrick Drahi, the owner of Altice France (SFR, BFM-TV) triggered hostilities with his creditors, to whom he owes 24 billion euros. Initially surprised and shocked by the suddenness of the threat, these debt holders have since organized themselves to defend themselves. More than 150 of them have signed, in recent days, a ” Cooperation agreement “has learned The world.
Negotiated with the help of the Rothschild bank and the Gibson Dunn law firm, as indicated by the Bloomberg agency on April 12, this agreement, which required mobilizing sufficient participants before being effective, commits all its members to act with one voice. “We don’t accept anything individually. Only a majority can decide”analyzes a source, on condition of anonymity.
These 150 creditors, mainly American investment funds, hold around 80% of the 20 billion euros of so-called secured debt of Altice France, that is to say guaranteed by assets if it were not to be repaid . This level gives them powerful negotiating power: by having more than two thirds of the debt, i.e. the majority required in the event of a financial restructuring procedure, they can block any proposal that they deem contrary to their interests.
And, if ever Patrick Drahi does not reimburse them the amounts owed, the creditors united in this cooperation agreement could trigger the new system known as “forced inter-class application”. Introduced in France by the transposition of the European directive reforming the law of companies in difficulty in 2021, and used for the first time in 2023 in the Orpea case, this rule allows creditors to evict the shareholder(s) in the event of default of the debt payment. “This cooperation agreement is a way of confronting Patrick Drahi with the law and his obligations”underlines the same source, while Altice France must repay 1.3 billion euros of debt in 2025 and the same in 2026. The following year, the maturities will increase to nearly 6 billion.
” Blackmail “
This type of cooperation agreement is common in the United States, where relations between shareholders and creditors, or even between lenders themselves, are often strong. This helps prevent everyone from being tempted to play their own game or accept financial conditions to the detriment of others. On the other hand, this is unprecedented for a French company. Recent developments in the law in favor of creditors may explain this agreement. Faced with the scale of the sums at stake, the lenders also had every interest in coming to an agreement, Patrick Drahi banking on their division to keep control.
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