On October 22, Neil Subin raised his stake in Optimum from 5.5% to 13.3% per public SEC filing.
Neil Subin — Profile and Optimum Play
Who He Is
Neil Subin is President and CIO of MILFAM LLC, a private investment firm, and the managing partner of Dark Mirage LP, the vehicle holding the Optimum stake. He also founded Broadbill Investment Partners LP and Trendex Capital Management. He is not a household name in finance but is a well-known figure in distressed telecom and special situations investing — the kind of investor who shows up quietly before a bankruptcy and positions for the restructuring.
His Chapter 11 Track Record
Subin has a documented history of involvement with companies that went through bankruptcy:
FiberTower (2012): Board Director from 2001–2014. FiberTower was a wireless backhaul telecom company that filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 in 2012 after spectrum licensing issues crippled its business model. It was ultimately acquired by AT&T for its spectrum assets. Subin was on the board before, during, and after the bankruptcy — suggesting he stayed involved to maximize asset recovery value.
Movie Gallery (2008–2010): Chairman through its bankruptcy and liquidation. Movie Gallery was the second-largest video rental chain in the US. It filed Chapter 11 in 2007, emerged briefly, then liquidated in 2010. Subin chaired it through the final wind-down.
Hancock Fabrics (2009–2016): Director through its Chapter 11 filing in 2016 and subsequent liquidation.
Centrus Energy (2017–2023): Director. Centrus (formerly USEC) was a uranium enrichment company that emerged from bankruptcy in 2014. Subin joined post-emergence and served through its recovery period.
The pattern across all four: telecom or distressed companies, board-level involvement, present through the restructuring process. He is not a passive bystander — he takes seats, participates in governance, and positions for asset recovery.
His Optimum Position
He initiated his position in early June 2026 and doubled down aggressively through October, culminating in an amendment filed the exact day the WSJ reported the bankruptcy prep. He went from 5.4% to 13.3% — adding nearly 6 million shares — while the company was visibly heading toward restructuring.
What He Is Likely Doing
Given his history, this is almost certainly a calculated distressed play with one or more of these goals:
Equity blocking position. In Chapter 11, a reorganization plan requires approval. Large equity holders can object, delay, and create leverage. At 13.3% he cannot block a plan alone, but he can be disruptive enough that the new lender-owners negotiating the plan find it easier to offer equity holders a small stub recovery than fight him.
Board seat in reorganized company. His FiberTower and other histories show he pursues board representation. In a restructured Optimum where Drahi and his son are off the board and new lender-shareholders are building a new governance structure, a 13.3% equity holder with telecom board experience is a natural candidate for a seat — or at minimum a negotiating chip.
Spectrum or infrastructure asset thesis. His FiberTower experience was ultimately about spectrum value hidden inside a failing company. Optimum's cable infrastructure — the physical plant, the franchise agreements, the customer base — has real underlying asset value that a pure debt restructuring may not fully capture for equity holders. He may believe equity isn't entirely worthless if the reorganized company is properly run.
Conversion to 13D. He is currently passive (13G). If he files a 13D amendment, that means he has shifted to active/activist mode — formally declaring intent to influence management, governance, or the restructuring outcome. Watch for that filing.
Bottom Line
Neil Subin is a seasoned distressed telecom investor who has been quietly building a 13.3% position in a company he has watched approach bankruptcy for months. He has sat on bankruptcy boards before. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is positioning to have influence over — or at minimum extract value from — whatever Optimum becomes on the other side of Chapter 11. He is not there to lose money passively as equity gets wiped out. He has a plan.