VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Altice reported a rise in 2015 adjusted profit as sales improved in its France business division. The company expects to report another profitable year in 2016 by focusing more on its core businesses.

Global cable group Altice is acquiring New York-based Cablevision for $17.7bn including debt. This makes Altice as the fourth largest cable provider in the US. Cablevision's CEO James Dolan will hand over the control to a group of Europeans after the Altice deal. Altice will pay $34.90 a share in cash taking the valuation of Cablevision equity to $9.6bn.

European shares clung to seven-year highs on Monday, lifted by merger activity in the telecoms sector, while Asian stocks edged up after China cut interest rates at the weekend.

Billionaire Patrick Drahi is aiming to buy Vivendi's 20 percent stake in Numericable-SFR (NUME.PA) to strengthen his grip on France's No.2 telecoms group and prepare for a possible next round of industry consolidation.

Telecoms group Altice SA (ATCE.AS) has agreed to buy the Portuguese operations of Brazil's Grupo Oi (OIBR3.SA) for about 7.4 billion euros ($9.2 billion), in what will be its third large acquisition this year.

France's competition watchdog said on Thursday it had given its go-ahead to Numericable's purchase of Virgin Mobile France. Numericable, which is also in the process of buying number 2 mobile operator SFR, agreed in June to buy Virgin Mobile France from owners Britain's Carphone Warehouse and entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group for an enterprise value of 325 million euros.

Cable and telecommunications investor Altice's acquisition of Orange Dominicana SA was made in order to expand its already growing empire in the media business in the Dominican Republic.

France-based phone firm Orange is nearing an agreement to exit its unit to Luxembourg-based cable and telecommunications investor Altice, according to sources interviewed by Bloomberg.