Altice co-CEO Alexandre Fonseca has left the group following an investigation into alleged corruption at the telco.

Fonseca was not considered a suspect in the investigation, and had temporarily stepped down to “fully protect and safeguard” Altice as the investigation was carried out in July.

"I would like to inform you that the Altice Group and I have reached an agreement that puts an end to a relationship of more than a decade, in which I put all my commitment and dedication and to whom I provided deep collaboration," said Fonseca on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Fonseca led Altice Portugal from November 2017 to April 2022, before becoming co-CEO of the company along with Armando Pereira.

Pereira was arrested as part of the investigation, and spent three months under house arrest until October. He's denied any wrongdoing.

His arrest was in relation to a three-year investigation into corruption, tax fraud, forgery, and money laundering at the telecoms company’s Portuguese subsidiary.

Pereira no longer holds any executive roles at the telco, which he founded with Patrick Drahi and Bruno Moineville in 2002.

Drahi told investors in August that he felt "betrayed."

Meanwhile, Iliad Group owner Xavier Niel has joined the race to buy Altice's Portuguese unit, as the telco aims to ease its debt, which sits at $60 billion. Saudi Telecom Company (STC) is also in the running to acquire the unit, while Warburg Pincus submitted a buyout offer of €6 billion ($6.6bn) last month.

Altice is separately looking to sell off its Portuguese data center unit.

The company recently spun off its French data center assets, forming a new company with more than 250 facilities in France, which was then sold to Morgan Stanley.

Altice is selling 70 percent of the new company, UltraEdge, to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP), a transaction which values UltraEdge at €764 million ($836.5m) and is expected to close in the first half of 2024.