Dutch conglomerate Altice completed its $17.7 billion acquisition of Cablevision, forming a new telecommunications giant that stands as the fourth-largest cable operator in the U.S.

The Amsterdam-based company also bought St. Louis, Mo.-based Suddenlink Communications for $9.1 billion in 2015.

Altice USA serves more than 4.6 million customers across 20 states, becoming a major broadband provider in the country behind only Comcast, Charter Communications (which recently acquired Time Warner Cable) and Cox Communications.

RELATED: Dutch Conglomerate, Altice, to Buy Cablevision for $17.7 Billion

“Altice USA is a key pillar of our business and a powerful and dynamic growth platform,” Patrick Drahi, Altice founder and controlling shareholder, said in a statement. “We are very excited about our U.S. business and the opportunities we see in this market. We will accelerate network investments and bring innovative products and services to U.S. customers by leveraging our global operational expertise, scale and resources.”

Although there has been speculation that the deal may lead to a loss of jobs, it was unanimously approved by the New York State Public Service Commission last week with conditions that Altice not lay off any of its consumer-facing staff for the next five years, according to the The Wall Street Journal. The company also agreed to pass 25 percent of its estimated $450 million in operational cost savings onto customers, and New York state officials project it will bring around $243 million in benefits to New York consumers.

Altice also pledged to improve the infrastructure of Cablevision and Suddenlink networks through higher broadband speeds, better WiFi, and implementing more user-friendly interfaces.

Altice was founded and controlled by French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, who operates cable and mobile businesses in France, Switzerland and other countries.

Dexter Goei, formerly an American investment banker, is Altice USA’s chairman and CEO.

Goei told Reuters that the company will focus on integrating its newly acquired cable systems before expanding organically in the U.S.

“We will continue to grow through acquisitions, either by buying more cable in other geographies in the country or by looking at other revenue streams,” Goei said. “There’s a lot of large players and a lot of medium-size players such as ourselves who may look to partner up or do things.”

He put it another way to the Wall Street Journal:

“We want get bigger in the U.S., but I don’t know when, clearly not in 2016, which is the year of integration of our assets and operations. Thereafter, you’d be surprised if we didn’t do anything, but we’re not going to buy things at stupid prices.”

READ MORE: Reuters, The Wall Street Journal

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