Moody’s cuts Numericable, rates Altice Luxembourg CFR B1

Moody's Investors Service said it took a number of rating actions on companies within the European operations of the Altice NV group as follows:

• Assigned a B1 corporate family rating and B1-PD probability of default rating to Altice Luxembourg SA and confirmed of its B3 senior unsecured notes rating;

• Downgraded Numericable-SFR SA's corporate family rating and probability of default rating to B1 and B1-PD, respectively, from Ba3 and Ba3-PD, and senior secured debt ratings to B1 from Ba3;

• Confirmed Altice International Sarl’s B1 corporate family rating and B1-PD probability of default rating, as well as the ratings of its guaranteed finance subsidiaries Altice Financing SA (B1 senior secured) and Altice Finco SA (B3 senior unsecured); and

• Withdrew Altice SA's B1 corporate family rating and B1-PD probability of default rating.

Altice Luxembourg is an intermediate holding company within the Altice NV group, which directly or indirectly owns the group's interests in Altice International and Numericable-SFR.

The outlook for Numericable-SFR is stable, while the outlooks for Altice International and its guaranteed subsidiaries as well as for Altice Luxembourg are negative.

"Our rating actions reflect our expectation that the company will focus on realizing targeted cost savings at acquired units while moderating financial leverage over the coming year," Christian Rauch, Moody's senior vice president and lead analyst for the Altice companies, said in a news release.

"Nevertheless, the ratings also consider the risks associated with the growing complexity of the aggregate Altice group organization, which has been assembled in a short time period largely through debt funded acquisitions."

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