Cablevision was sold to European telecom company Altice for $10 billion on Thursday.
Media properties like Long Island’s Newsday and News Channel 12 will be owned Altice; am New York will also be sold to Altice. Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks/New York Rangers and AMC Networks will continue to be owned and operated by the Dolan family.
The Dolan’s have owned the cable company for 49 years, controlling over 72 percent of the company’s voting shares.
Altice will be the number four cable operator in the U.S. after the merger of Cablevision with Suddenlink. Comcast, Time Warner Cable/Charter and Cox rank 1-3.
“Altice will be truly worthy successors, and we look forward to doing all we can to affect this transition for our customers and employees,” James Dolan said. “We expect that Cablevision will be in excellent hands.”
The deal is expected to go through in mid-2016. When it does, Cablevision will have around $5.8 billion in debt outstanding; Altice will have $14.5 million in debt.
Cablevision’s shares are up about 16 percent in pre-market trading on Thursday.
“As a family business we are proud to be entrusted by the Dolan family with the ownership of Cablevision and look forward to continuing the pioneering path they have paved for us,” Patrick Drahi, Founder and President of Altice, said. “The strategy of Altice in the large and highly strategic US market is reinforced with the acquisition of Cablevision. We will be in a stronger position, as in all other markets in which we operate, to deliver the best services, invest in the most advanced technology, and develop innovative products for the benefit of our customers.”