By Andrea Hargraves 
Altice is preparing to sell the old Portugal Telecom. The process will remain at the beginning, but according to the sources Heard before Expresso The group, controlled by Patrick Drahi, has commissioned an international investment bank to test the isolation of the largest Portuguese telecom operator.
The company hired the investment bank Lazard, Accordingly With the Eco Digital Newspaper.
The goal, according to the weekly, is to obtain liquidity to reduce pressure on debt, which in the European operation has already exceeded 30 billion euros, after Drahi regained control of 100% of Altice Europe, which also owns the French company. .
According to the same newspaper, this may not be the best time, as the major operators are focusing on 5G investments and since a new competitor may enter Portugal. Industry sources acknowledge interest from mutual funds.
On the week, the company does not comment on the information. On Tuesday, Altice Europe CFO Malu Corbin said he was satisfied with the operation in Portugal and responded to an analyst that “there is no active sale with respect to Portuguese assets”.
Altice paid € 5.5 billion for Portugal Telecom in 2015. Meanwhile, it sold the antennas and part of the network for € 2.2 billion.