Altice USA has this week filed an antitrust lawsuit against some of its largest creditors, ahead of plans to restructure its $26 billion debt pile.

As reported by Bloomberg, Altice’s US unit, which recently changed its name to Optimum Communications, has brought the case in federal court in New York against lenders including Apollo Capital Management LP, Ares Management LLC, and BlackRock Financial Management Inc.

Altice alleges that the companies have worked together to freeze the company out of the US credit market.

The lawsuit comes a day after Altice USA told lenders it would pay a $1.9bn term loan more than two years early.

Altice USA argues that there’s a cooperation agreement between the defendants, which binds “nearly every creditor holding Optimum’s debt” and bars them from dealing with the company unless two-thirds of the firms approve, reports Bloomberg.

“The cooperative is a classic illegal cartel,” said Altice USA in the complaint. “Competing debt investors have agreed to lock Optimum out of the credit market unless Optimum offers terms the entire cooperative deems acceptable.

“It is also classic price fixing: the cooperative is collectively dictating terms to Optimum by forcing it to transact only at loan and bond prices the whole group will accept,” the complaint reads. “These restraints decimate competition and obstruct the capital markets from working as intended.”

During the summer, Altice USA secured a $1bn asset-backed term loan facility in partnership with Goldman Sachs and TPG Angelo Gordon.

In the company’s lawsuit, Altice USA said it was forced to pursue that raise instead, as it had been unable to work with existing lenders and bondholders. Altice claimed in the lawsuit that the deal came with an interest rate that was two to three percentage points higher than if the company had been able to work with its existing counterparties.

Altice USA was previously a subsidiary of Altice, a company owned by French billionaire Patrick Drahi, but split from the telco into a separate business in 2018.

Altice USA noted that the asset-backed loan facility matures in January 2031, and has a fixed coupon of 8.875 percent, with original issue discount, amortization, and other features customary of asset-backed financings.