Altice International - comment

Prior to the release of their Q3 numbers next week (Tuesday Altice International/ Wednesday Altice France), Altice published an update on the actions taken since the investigation by the Public Prosecutors Office into Altice Portugal due to alleged fraud and misconduct.  Altice International and Altice France have changed substantially all suppliers potentially implicated in the investigations.  In addition, external forensic accountants have substantially completed a thorough risk assessment and no material impact is expected on either Company's financial statements. 

It should be noted that the Public Prosecutor Office have publicly stated that Altice Portugal are a victim in this case.  In theory, we should revert to pre-July trading levels, as we dismiss the impact of the probe.  However, the reality is the lack of progress on asset sales and the lack of a proper deleveraging plan have rightly become more of a concern.