New York State Regulators Clear Altice Purchase of Cablevision

New York state regulators on Wednesday approved, with conditions, Altice NV's acquisition of Cablevision Systems Corp., clearing the way for the $10 billion deal to close in the second quarter.

The New York Public Service Commission said the conditions include promises to upgrade the company's broadband speeds, offer services aimed at assisting low- and middle-income customers, and protect jobs related to customer service.

In addition, Altice would have to upgrade its infrastructure to better handle weather emergencies, such as superstorm Sandy, and open its Wi-Fi network, free and to all residents, during a state or federal declared emergency.

With the conditions, the agency said, the deal would translate into at least $224 million in net incremental benefits over the next five years to New York consumers. The state also placed conditions on Charter Communications Inc.'s acquisition earlier this year of Time Warner Cable Inc.

"Absent acceptance of these enforceable commitments and conditions," the New York Public Service Commission wrote in the order published Wednesday, "the public interest standard cannot be met."

Altice last month received approvals from the Federal Communications Commission and New York City officials. Under the FCC approval, Altice committed to a number of benefits for consumers, including deploying a low-income broadband option offering speeds of 30 megabits per second for $14.99 a month.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 15, 2016 17:15 ET (21:15 GMT)

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