- A group of lenders sued Optimum in New York State court
- The lawsuit alleges the operator moved valuable Cablevision network assets beyond creditors’ reach
- Optimum said the claims are “without merit"
Optimum’s debt crisis has spilled into court. A large group of lenders filed a lawsuit against Optimum in New York State court on Monday, accusing the operator of engineering a series of transactions that stripped creditors of claims on valuable Cablevision network assets while preserving value for insiders and shareholders.
Among other things, the complaint takes issue with a restructuring initiative Optimum announced in June, alleging the company used a series of transactions to transfer assets generating more than $2 billion in annual EBITDA outside the group of entities backing the company’s debt. The plaintiffs claim the moves violated credit agreements and fraudulent-transfer laws.
An Optimum spokesperson told Fierce it “strongly disagrees” with the claims made in the filing and said they are “without merit.”
“The actions the Company has taken to protect and maximize stakeholder value were conducted in full compliance with its existing debt agreements and applicable law, and the Company intends to address these claims through the appropriate legal channels,” the Optimum representative stated.
What’s in the Optimum lawsuit filing?
The lawsuit alleged Optimum is “hopelessly insolvent and has been for some time.” The lenders claimed Optimum and CSC Holdings moved valuable Cablevision network assets outside the reach of creditors as the company faces more than $21 billion in debt, including $6.2 billion due in 2027.
“Rather than negotiating in good faith with the CSC Funded Debtholders and acknowledging that [Patrick] Drahi and other shareholders are out of the money, [Optimum] and its co-conspirators executed a series of transactions that moved substantial value available to satisfy creditor claims directly into Drahi’s and other insider shareholders’ pockets,” the filing reads.
In addition to Drahi, former CEO Dexter Goei and current CEO Dennis Mathew are named as defendants alongside Optimum.
The lenders argue the transactions violated the CSC credit agreement, fraudulent transfer laws and fiduciary duties.
Among other things, they are seeking to unwind or avoid the challenged transactions, recover damages and hold the defendants liable for alleged breaches tied to the restructuring.
Read more about Optimum on Fierce Network:
Optimum moves to protect Eastern US assets as debt standoff drags on
Optimum loses 40,000 more broadband subs in Q2 2026
‘It will take a monumental effort from Optimum to do better in 2H 26,’ says analyst