private equity Warburg Pincus, linked to Antonio Horta Osorio; Saudi Telecom Company; and Iliad, owned by French millionaire Xavier Niela, are advancing to the second round of negotiations to buy Altice Portugal, according to Bloomberg.

Apollo and CVC Capital Partners are no longer in the running after preliminary analysis.

According to the news agency, which cited sources familiar with the process, Warburg Pincus – which collaborated with the buyout firm Zeno Partners and former head of Credit Suisse Group, Antonio Horta Osorio – was invited to the second round of proposals.

Several private equity firms that initially considered the deal, including Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital Partners, have dropped out of the race, sources told Bloomberg.

Billionaire Patrick Drahi hopes to obtain a value of between 8 billion euros and 10 billion euros for Altice Portugal, although potential candidates are having difficulty meeting this expectation, the same sources told the agency.

Negotiations are ongoing and it is not certain that they will lead to an agreement.

Bloomberg says representatives for Altice, Apollo, CVC, Iliad and members of the Warburg Pincus consortium declined to comment.

Saudi Telecom did not respond to the agency.