Storm warning on the Parisian square. Several French flagships find themselves at the foot of a wall of debt, a situation that is all the more worrying as the cost of credit has risen with the rise in interest rates. Built by Thierry Breton, the digital champion Atos has formalized its split into two entities, one of which will be sold to Daniel Kretinsky – and with it, a slate of 1.9 billion euros. However, this is three times less than the approximately 6 billion accumulated by Casino, whose emblematic CEO Jean-Charles Naouri must resolve to relinquish control in favor, again, of the Czech businessman.
The whole being only a drop of water compared to the mountain – estimated at 60 billion euros! – accumulated by Patrick Drahi to build his telecom and media empire, Altice (minority shareholder of L’Express). Will the owner of SFR and BFMTV see the LBO strategy (for “leveraged buy out”, the principle of which consists of resorting to debt to finance an acquisition) which made its success, turn around? The concern is all the greater as the company finds itself at the heart of a corruption case in Portugal involving one of its co-founders, Armando Pereira.
An eventful comeback in sight
The man is suspected by the Portuguese justice of having taken part in a system allowing the diversion of commissions on purchases made by the local branch of Altice from suppliers. Less than a month after the arrest of his right arm, Patrick Drahi reacted to investors during a conference organized on August 7. “If these allegations are true, I feel betrayed and deceived by a small group of individuals”, dissociated the billionaire, adding that about fifteen people had been suspended in Portugal, as well as in the United States and In France.
Altice also says that it has hired a large cleaning at its suppliers. 5% of the company’s global purchases would be affected by the case. To reassure the markets, Patrick Drahi now claims to have the “sole priority” of reducing the debt. In France, he plans to sell non-strategic assets, such as data centers. Time is running out for Altice, which will have to face its first deadlines in France from 2025… A scenario that is far from isolated. Galeries Lafayette and real estate giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, also heavily indebted, are in the sights. For these large liners, the start of the school year promises to be eventful.