Patrick Drahi’s financial engineering makes Europe’s other telecom bosses seem idle. A 30 billion euro debt pile admittedly forces the founder and controlling shareholder of Altice to be creative. The tycoon has nonetheless come out top from his latest sale. Altice on Friday said it had agreed to sell just under half of a unit that’s building fast-broadband lines in France to funds managed by insurers Allianz  and AXA and a Canadian pension manager for 1.8 billion euros. The unit will build connections reaching at least 1 million homes each year for the next four years, focusing on less populous regions of France.

Patrick Drahi has made it easier for Altice shareholders to see if he is doing a good job. The founder of the cable and telecom group is spinning off the U.S. unit that was formed in 2015 at a cost of almost $30 billion including debt. He is also reorganising a struggling European business. The new structure will show clearly whether he is doing enough to tackle problems at home. Drahi’s Netherlands-based group said late on Monday it would give shareholders its 67 percent stake in Altice USA after the unit pays a $1.5 billion dividend. That helps insulate the

If Altice USA’s initial public offering was a TV program it would have been a huge ratings success. Bankers directed a flawless show for selling shares in the American division of the Dutch-based cable company. Worth some $23 billion, it now trades at a higher multiple than much larger rivals despite plenty of static. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citi and Goldman Sachs deserve a pat on the back for their efforts in the IPO episode. They managed to sell more shares than initially planned, and at $30 a pop did so near the top end of the range they had earlier