Altice rejected in raised bid for Cogeco

US$8.4B offer quickly turned down

Altice USA Inc. raised its bid for Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. to US$8.4 billion, but the offer was quickly turned down by the Canadian cable firm's controlling shareholder.

“We are not interested in selling our shares,” Louis Audet, president of Gestion Audem Inc., said in a statement. Gestion is a private holding company that has 69 per cent Cogeco's voting rights.

Altice's revised offer Sunday included $900 million (US$682 million) to the Audet family for their multiple classes of voting shares of both companies, as well as $123 per share for the remaining Cogeco subordinate voting shares and $150 per share for those of Cogeco Communications.

Dexter Goei, chief executive of Altice, said the offer incorporated feedback from discussions with some shareholders. Goei asked the boards to consider the bid and “engage with us to discuss our proposal.”

Altice first announced an unsolicited offer worth about US$7.8 billion on Sept. 2. Its

THIS IS NOT A NEGOTIATING STRATEGY, BUT A DEFINITIVE

REFUSAL.

proposal would see Altice obtain the cable company's U.S. assets, Atlantic Broadband, and sell the rest to Toronto-based Rogers Communications Inc.

“This revised offer provides significant additional value for all shareholders and upholds our commitment to $3 billion worth of investments over the next five years in Quebec, including maintaining the Cogeco brand and Cogeco's headquarters in Quebec,” Rogers Communications Inc. chief executive Joe Natale said in an emailed statement Sunday.

Rogers has said it planned to keep Cogeco's headquarters in Quebec if the bid is successful — a pledge likely aimed at heading off objections from the nationalist provincial government.

“Members of the Audet family unanimously reject this further proposal,” Audet said in his statement Sunday. “Since this is apparently not registering with Rogers and Altice, we repeat today that this is not a negotiating strategy, but a definitive refusal.”

Gestion Audem holds 69 per cent of the voting rights at public holding company Cogeco Inc., while Rogers has control over 13 per cent of the votes. For Cogeco Communications, Gestion holds 83 per cent of the votes and Rogers has 6 per cent.

Rogers has also said it would spend $3 billion in the province over the next five years, ensuring 5,000 jobs for the combined Rogers and Cogeco entity.