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In a dramatic twist emblematic of Europe’s telecom turbulence, Altice France SA, the country’s second-largest telecom provider, has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York, seeking U.S. court recognition of its French insolvency proceedings as it buckles under €19.2 billion ($22 billion) in debt.

The Paris-based company submitted its petition late Tuesday, shortly after the Paris Commercial Court initiated an accelerated safeguard procedure on June 10 — a French insolvency mechanism designed to allow financially distressed firms to restructure swiftly.

A Financial Signal Lost in Static

According to a declaration by foreign representative Laurent Halimi, Altice France’s towering liabilities include roughly €10.9 billion in senior secured debt, with $7.8 billion of that tied up in U.S. dollar-denominated notes — a sign of its expansive global financial footprint.

The request for Chapter 15 protection, which helps foreign debtors safeguard U.S.-based assets while working through international restructuring, comes as the company gasps for air amid rising interest rates, mounting inflation, and relentless sector competition.

“The debtors have struggled to service their highly-leveraged capital structure while facing declining earnings resulting, in part, from the aforementioned competitive pressures and rising costs,” Halimi said in the first-day filing.

High Stakes in High-Speed Networks

Altice France, founded in 2002, rose rapidly through strategic acquisitions and massive infrastructure investments. It has poured more than €4 billion into modernizing its networks over the past two years alone, aiming to stay ahead in a cutthroat telecom market.

Yet those ambitions came at a price. The aggressive capital strategy, once hailed as visionary, is now viewed as a millstone — dragging the company’s balance sheet into dangerous waters.

Despite this, the company’s core operations remain vast: serving over 26 million customers across France and raking in €10.4 billion in revenue in 2024, offering broadband internet, mobile, TV, and landline services.

Altice USA Not Affected — For Now

The filing makes clear that Altice USA is not involved in the current bankruptcy process. The U.S. arm remains operational and separate, avoiding the immediate fallout from its European sibling’s financial distress.

Still, the move is sending shockwaves through global telecom and investment communities, raising questions about future credit confidence and the sustainability of high-leverage telecom models in an era of economic tightening.

Legal Minds on Deck

Ropes & Gray LLP is representing the debtor, with Ryan Preston Dahl at the helm — an experienced restructuring attorney now tasked with steering the once-rising star of French telecom through a judicial storm on both sides of the Atlantic.

A representative for Altice France did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.