Altice USA stock rises on first day of trading after $1.9B IPO

Shares of Altice USA Inc. rose $2.71 from their IPO price to close at $32.71 on Thursday in their first trading day on the New York Stock Exchange.

The provider of broadband, cable and telephone services and two of its investors raised $1.9 billion in an initial public offering on Wednesday. They sold nearly 64 million shares at $30 per share.

Thursday’s closing price represented a 9 percent increase over the IPO price.

At the stock exchange in lower Manhattan, Altice founder Patrick Drahi rang the bell to open the market at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. Shares began trading about 30 minutes later, opening at $31.60, under the symbol ATUS.

Altice is based in Bethpage but plans to move its headquarters to Long Island City, Queens, this year.

The company was formed last year after Netherlands-based Altice N.V. bought Cablevision Systems Corp. of Bethpage and Suddenlink of St. Louis, Missouri.

Altice N.V. and Drahi will continue to control Altice USA as owners of more than 70 percent of the stock and 98 percent of the voting power.

Altice USA owns 25 percent of Newsday Media Group.

The company employs 15,300 people nationwide, according to a securities filing on Wednesday. It had 2016 pro forma revenue of about $9 billion. Pro forma revenue is an estimate of the company’s financial performance had it been a separate entity in 2016.

Altice N.V. shares trade on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam.