While Charter's proposed blockbuster merger with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks continues to generate headlines, Altice NV is quietly building its own little empire in the U.S. cable market. It acquired a 70 percent stake in Suddenlink Communications last year in a $9.1 billion deal, and it announced in September that it would spend $17.7 billion to buy Cablevision. The combined companies would give Altice roughly 4.6 million customers in 20 states, making it a major player, and its effort in the U.S. could expand to mobile.
And Altice appears intent on leveraging that status to disrupt the cable industry. The company has found success in foreign markets by focusing on cost-cutting and investing heavily in both mobile and fixed coverage, enabling it to distribute unique content offerings across platforms. As it aggressively expands its presence in the U.S., it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see it pursue a nationwide quad-play with a partnership or even an acquisition of T-Mobile or Sprint. Article