Altice Owner Drahi Says Wasn't Ready For Time Warner Cable Buy

Patrick Drahi, the billionaire owner of European telecoms group Altice (ATCE.AS), said he put an end to talks to buy Time Warner Cable (TWC.N) because his company was not ready, adding that he would not carry out reckless acquisitions.

“I didn’t follow up on the exchanges we had on Time Warner Cable that were evoked in the media because we were not ready,” Drahi told a French parliamentary hearing on Wednesday.

Drahi said that the previously announced acquisition of U.S. regional cable company Suddenlink Communications was a “modest” way to arrive on the U.S. market and test its ability there, adding that “time is on our side” for U.S. expansion.

“In the United States, you have to go carefully,” Drahi added.

REUTERS