Suddenlink is no more. Altice USA officially transitioned its Suddenlink properties to the Optimum brand, four months after setting the change in motion.
Work is still in progress to plaster the new branding across its stores, vehicles, websites and uniforms, and will continue over the months ahead. But the company debuted a new Optimum-branded “look and feel, tagline, and mission” for Suddenlink customers.
The new tagline “get closer and go farther” is meant to reflect the company’s promise to consumers, Optimum EVP of Consumer and Business Services Matt Grover said in a statement.
In February, Altice CFO Mike Grau said the rebranding effort was expected to cost around $30 million in 2022.
The move comes despite rumors that Altice is potentially looking to offload its Suddenlink assets in a deal that could bring in as much as $20 billion. Its Suddenlink territory is primarily comprised of cable assets in 17 states. In February, the operator laid out plans to push fiber to 2.5 million locations in its Suddenlink footprint by 2025, including 200,000 by the end of 2022.
Analysts previously tipped Cable One, Cox Communications and private equity players as the most likely suitors for the Suddenlink systems. Interest from the latter doesn’t seem too far-fetched given Lumen Technologies last year inked a $7.5 billion deal to sell its ILEC assets in 20 states to Apollo Global Management and firms have increasingly been pumping cash into broadband ventures.
Asked about the potential for a deal, an Altice representative told Fierce it doesn’t comment on rumors.