(Bloomberg) -- Altice USA lenders have tapped Sullivan & Cromwell to help fight a lawsuit which alleges they worked together to freeze the company out of the US credit market.
Sullivan & Cromwell, known for its anti-trust expertise, will work alongside Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld which the creditors had retained earlier, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.
The US unit of billionaire Patrick Drahi’s telecom empire stunned credit markets when it sued lenders including Apollo Capital Management LP, Ares Management LLC and BlackRock Financial Management Inc. last month, alleging a so-called cooperation agreement that they’d struck amounted to an “illegal cartel.”
The lawsuit, the first of its kind to be brought by a borrower, thrust the legality of the pacts, which are designed to give bond and loan holders more leverage by negotiating as a bloc rather than individually, into the spotlight.
Representatives for Sullivan & Cromwell, and for the group of lenders to Altice USA, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Altice USA also didn’t immediately respond.
Altice USA — which recently rebranded as Optimum Communications Inc. — has struggled under a heavy debt load. The firm has been working with Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, a law firm known for its antitrust expertise and also the architect behind the lawsuit.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, along with PJT Partners, which is also advising the creditor group being sued, said on a call with lenders last month that the lawsuit has no merit, Bloomberg reported.
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