(Bloomberg) -- KKR & Co. and Macquarie Group Ltd. are among suitors that have been shortlisted in the bidding for billionaire Patrick Drahi’s French fiber company, people with knowledge of the matter said, as the tycoon seeks to cut debt at his sprawling telecom empire. 

Pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec and Global Infrastructure Partners have also been pursuing a deal for XpFibre, which is an arm of Drahi’s Altice France, according to the people. 

Drahi in September kicked off a sale process for various assets including Altice France, the group’s biggest unit, as a $60 billion total debt pile and rising interest rates call his business model into question. He has been open to letting an investor take a minority stake in French phone carrier SFR, but potential buyers have been more keen to invest in the fiber network unit, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Altice France’s bonds across different maturities jumped on Friday, with the €500 million senior unsecured note due in 2028 up 2.7 cents on the euro to 45 cents, the most since September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

Read More: Debt and Scandal Throw Billionaire Drahi’s Empire Into Turmoil

There’s no certainty the deliberations will result in a deal, and other bidders could also emerge. Representatives for Altice, KKR, Macquarie, GIP and CDPQ declined to comment. 

Altice owns 50.01% of XpFibre, which is responsible for the construction, maintenance and commercialization of a network in France. The rest of the company is owned by a consortium majority-led by OMERS Infrastructure that also includes Allianz Capital Partners and AXA IM Real Assets. The three investors acquired the minority stake for €1.7 billion in 2019, valuing the unit at €3.4 billion.

Lenders to Drahi’s sprawling empire have been scrutinizing efforts to reduce the companies’ heavy debt loads. The network of businesses includes Altice France and Altice International as well as the listed Altice USA. Altice International has operations in Portugal and the Dominican Republic, which are also for sale. 

The sale process is taking place amid a corruption investigation announced by Portuguese prosecutors in July. The probe ensnared Altice’s co-founder, Armando Pereira, and led to the termination of more than a dozen employees and the restructuring of leadership teams. Pereira has denied wrongdoing. 

Altice says it’s a victim of the alleged fraud, and it’s been designated as a party that’s aiding the justice system on the case. 

Interest from some of the funds was previously reported by L’Informe.

--With assistance from Mathieu Dion and Irene García Pérez.

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