Patrick Drahi is one of the most recurrent names in the European business sector. This French-Israeli entrepreneur has built a true empire of success, and is notable as the founder and controlling shareholder of the European multinational telecommunications company and Altice.
Altice is a worldwide company, present in many countries in three main continents, Europe, the United States and Israel. His leadership in this international giant continues to be supported by the best practices in the market, making of Altice a benchmark in different sectors.
Let’s get to know more about Patrick Drahi, the founder of Altice.
Early Years
Born on 12th July in 1958,Patrick Drahi had a very high inclination and affection towards pushing the economic boundaries and standing out from the crowd.He is from a Moroccan-Jewish family and his first steps and interest in business development were laid down in his childhood.
At 10-years old, he tried to open a haircuts shop in his native Paris province and in school, his dream was to invest his pocket-money in stocks. After that, he studied at École Polytechnique in Paris and later studied civil engineering at École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris.
Rise of Altice
Patrick Drahi’s development as a successful businessman started in 1989, when he founded his first company, Câbles Systems. The company made a fast progress, growing to become an important cable and satellite TV operator in France and Switzerland.
Impressed by his success, Patrick Drahi gathered a group of investors who founded SFR in 1997. The company saw large success and was a milestone as one of the first companies in France to have made cable television and internet widely available.
In 2014, Drahi merged SFR with the Netherlands-based Altice to create the international telecommunications powerhouse Altice. It grew to become one of the largest companies in Europe and Patrick Drahi was named Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Altice group.
Business Acquisitions of Altice
Altice continued to grow in influence and reputation, mostly due to its extremely aggressive strategy of acquisitions. In 2017, Altice acquired Portugal Telecom, a company which gave them access to the third-largest market in Europe. It marked a great night in the business world and one of the largest acquisitions of the year.
Right after that, Altice kept pushing for growth and acquired the popular American cable business, Cablevision Systems in 2016 for $21.1 billion. With this purchase, Altice was able to enter the US business sector, thus consolidating its global position in the industry.
Other Purchases
Apart from Cablevision, Seth and Patrick Drahi have pursued multiple business plans, paying special attention to the US market. In 2018, they started their successful interventions in the TV sector and media. First they acquired Newco, the parent company of i24 News, the first 24-hour news channel with broadcasts in three different languages.
Also in the same year, Altice bought 70% of the stake of Cheddar, a well-known live business media channel from the United States. With this purchase, Altice gained control over the well-known channels, as CNBC and CNN, adding a great deal of value to the company.
Altice in Europe
Altice is probably one of the most successful companies in Europe right now, and this is mainly due to its success in the telecommunications world. In Portugal, Altice owns Nowo and the telecom network, MEO. It also has a considerable portion of the telecom and cable businesses in the French market, operating under the name of SFR.
The company also is a major player in the cable businesses in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, an important segment in Jewish Europe.
Patrick Drahi is a name associated with outstanding success and tenacity, and fostering a business-oriented approach from childhood on. After leading the telecommunications giant Altice to the heights of fame and reputation, he continues being its controlling shareholder, a place for which he deserves credit.
He continues to be a successful leader in the international business scene, and his unconventional tactics, intelligence and vision have made Altice a true success story at an international level.
