(MENAFN- AFP) French billionaire Patrick Drahi's European telecoms giant Altice on Tuesday unveiled a new global strategy, merging many of the company's brands under one name.
"Altice is today entering a new era, following its transformation into a global leader in telecoms, content and advertising," chief executive Michel Combes told reporters at a hotel near Times Square in Manhattan.
The financial holding company Altice will be transformed into a global group with a single brand.
France's second-largest mobile operator SFR, which Drahi bought in 2014 for 17 billion euros ($19 billion), will be rebranded as Altice.
Media sub-brands including Liberation, i24NEWS, BFM and RMC will keep their names in the transition process expected to be completed in 2018.
The company is hoping to improve its international profile as it prepares for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
The change should allow Altice to achieve significant economies of scale by reducing marketing costs, a primary expense.
The transition will not negatively affect customers, Combes said.
Altice has grown rapidly since it was founded in Luxembourg in 2001, moving into the cable, content production, telecom, media and online video advertising sectors.
In addition to acquiring SFR, Altice also bought Virgin Mobile, a virtual operator of mobile phone services.
In the United States, it provides residential and business communications and cable service to 4.6 million customers across 20 states after buying Cablevision and Suddenlink Communications.
Last year the group generated turnover of 23.52 billion euros and employed 49,732 people at the end of December.
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