Welcome to negotiation, Patrick Drahi style.

Back in August, the billionaire struck a deferential tone when addressing bondholders financing his overindebted Altice telecoms empire. The business was facing challenges on all sides: rising interest costs; weak operating performance; a corruption probe in Portugal. Drahi made an unusual personal appearance when Altice France SA, the core business, announced quarterly results and outlined plans to cut borrowings by selling assets and potentially buying back some of the debt where it was trading below fair value.