 "The 'Les Meules' by Claude Monet at display, during a press preview of their upcoming impressionist and modern art sale in New York Photo: Reuters")
In a career defined by audacious takeovers, Patrick Drahi’s bid for Sotheby’s ranks as perhaps the most surprising of all.
The French-Israeli tycoon has long followed his own path in business, tapping the market for junk-rated debt to help build the second-biggest telecom company in France. And Drahi shunned the elite bastions of Paris by listing Altice Europe NV in Amsterdam and settling in the alpine town of Zermatt, Switzerland.
When this consummate outsider announced on June 17 that he would shell out $2.7 billion to purchase Sotheby’s, the iconic 275-year-old auction house, a raft of questions followed.
The French-Israeli tycoon has long followed his own path in business, tapping the market for junk-rated debt to help build the second-biggest telecom company in France. And Drahi shunned the elite bastions of Paris by listing Altice Europe NV in Amsterdam and settling in the alpine town of Zermatt, Switzerland.
When this consummate outsider announced on June 17 that he would shell out $2.7 billion to purchase Sotheby’s, the iconic 275-year-old auction house, a raft of questions followed.
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