AMSTERDAM (dpa-AFX) - Cable company Altice USA Inc. (ATUS) increased Wednesday the number of shares it will sell in its initial public offering by 37%, raising around $1.9 billion.
In the IPO, the company offered 63.94 million shares at a price of $30 per share, higher than the 46.6 million shares announced last month.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Altice USA raised more money in the IPO than any other U.S.-listed telecom since 2000. Altice USA was formed after the acquisition of Suddenlink Communications in 2015 and Cablevision/Optimum in 2016 by Altice N.V.
The increase in the shares comes entirely from selling shareholders, who are now selling 51.9 million shares, compared with last month's plan to sell 34.5 million shares.
The company noted that in the offering, 12.07 million shares were sold by Altice USA, 31.48 million shares by funds advised by BC Partners and 20.40 million shares by entities affiliated with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board or CPPIB.
BC Partners and CPPIB have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 7.78 million additional shares.
The stock will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'ATUS' and is expected to begin trading on June 22.
After completion of the offering, Altice N.V. will own 70.3% of Altice USA's stake, which will represent 98.3% of the voting power of Altice USA's outstanding common stock.
For the offering, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as joint book-running managers.
Altice USA, a broadband communications and video services provider, serves approximately 4.9 million residential and business customers across 21 states with Optimum and Suddenlink-branded services.
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