Numericable, Altice launch €12 billion notes in seven tranches, deal plays to historic demand

By Paul A. Harris

Portland, Ore., April 23 - In a massive junk bond financing that is playing to historic demand, Numericable Group AG and Altice SA launched €12.05 billion equivalent of notes in seven tranches, market sources said on Wednesday.

The combined financing to help fund the acquisition of SFR by Numericable and Altice from Vivendi was expected at mid-morning Wednesday to price shortly.

Various sizes and configurations had been marketed during the past week.

The bonds were already trading in the gray market, one trader on the East Coast of the United States said at 10:50 a.m. ET Wednesday.

The Altice 7¾% notes due 2022 were at 102¾ bid, 103½ offered in the gray, the trader said.

The final tranche breakdown and pricing are as follows:

For Numericable's €7.9 billion equivalent of senior secured first-lien notes (Ba3/B+), led by global coordinator JP Morgan:

• $2.4 billion of five-year notes were launched at 4 7/8%, versus price talk in the 5% area;

• €1 billion of eight-year notes were launched at 5 3/8%, versus price talk of 5½% to 5¾%;

• $4 billion of eight-year notes were launched at 6%, versus price talk of 6% to 6¼%;

• €1.25 billion of 10-year notes were launched at 5 5/8%, versus the 5¾% price talk; and

• $1.35 billion of 10-year notes were launched at 6¼%, versus price talk of 6 3/8%.

In addition to JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are also global coordinators.

For the euro-denominated notes, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, ING, Banca IMI and Natixis are the bookrunners.

For the dollar-denominated notes, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and ING are the bookrunners.

For Altice's senior notes due 2022 (B3/B), via global coordinator Goldman Sachs:

• $2.9 billion of notes were launched at 7¾%, on top of price talk; and

• €2.1 billion of notes were launched at 7¼%, also on top of final price talk.

As well as Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan are joint global coordinators. The syndicate of underwriters also includes Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, ING and Natixis.

Numericable is a cable operator based in Lille, France. SFR is a telecommunications company based in Paris. Altice is a Luxembourg-based cable and telecommunications company.

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