Cablevision Bought by Israeli Mogul for $17B
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
European telecom company Altice, owned by Patrick Drahi, a French billionaire with Israeli citizenship, will take over U.S. cable television operator Cablevision.
Altice’s purchase price for the company, which will become the fourth largest cable operator in the United States, is $17.7 billion, Altice announced Thursday.
Cablevision is the leading operator in the New York metropolitan area, which includes New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Drahi said in a statement that: “The strategy of Altice in the large and highly strategic US market is reinforced with the acquisition of Cablevision. We will be in a stronger position, as in all other markets in which we operate, to deliver the best services, invest in the most advanced technology, and develop innovative products for the benefit of our customers.”
Drahi, who also owns the Israeli cable company HOT and founded the Israel-based i24news international news channel, was born in Morocco and moved to France at the age of 15. He currently resides in Geneva, Switzerland.
Drahi is worth $15.4 billion, according to Forbes, which makes him the richest person in Israel and the third richest in France. He appears at number #57 on the Forbes Billionaires list for 2015.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
