The world this wiki

The idea of LLM Wiki applied to a year of the Economist. Have an LLM keep a wiki up-to-date about companies, people & countries while reading through all articles of the economist from Q2 2025 until Q2 2026.

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companies|Wire cutters

Altice

Telecoms empire founded by Patrick Drahi. After years of debt-fuelled expansion, the company divided itself in three parts from 2018:

  • Altice USA (renamed "Optimum"): the American arm, which has stood alone since 2018.
  • Altice France: owns SFR, France's second-largest telecoms operator. Sits under a web of Luxembourg-based entities.
  • Altice International: businesses in Portugal, Israel and the Dominican Republic.

Each part has struggled with a huge debt load. Altice's total debt grew from €2.2bn in 2013 to €50bn in 2017 during a furious acquisition streak.

Debt restructuring

Altice France completed a restructuring in late 2025. Lenders were owed €17bn rather than the original €24bn and received 45% of the firm's equity, but Mr Drahi retained control. Shortly after, at Altice International, he declared operations in Portugal and the Dominican Republic "unrestricted", leaving lenders exposed only to €300m of profits from the Israeli subsidiary—a leverage ratio of 27.

The best hope for creditors to Altice France is a sale of SFR to a competitor. Prospects for lenders to Altice International are gloomier.

Bloom's Seventh Law of Litigation: The judge's jokes are always funny.