SFR Takeover: Orange, Bouygues Telecom, and Free Reach Agreement with Altice After Last-Minute Scare

The sale of French telecom operator SFR is moving forward after Altice France and a consortium of Orange, Bouygues Telecom, and Iliad (Free) signed a memorandum of understanding. This agreement follows an exclusive negotiation period that lasted longer than initially anticipated, highlighting the intricate nature of the deal.

The division of an operator the size of SFR among three major players is an unprecedented move in Europe. The parties involved had initially set a deadline of June 5 for finalizing exclusive discussions, which had already been postponed once. However, just before the deadline, the consortium announced a 48-hour extension to finalize the agreement.

Sources within the consortium revealed that the negotiations came close to collapse, with one executive stating they were on the verge of issuing a statement to end the deal. This near-failure underscores the significant challenges and complexities inherent in structuring such a large-scale acquisition within the European telecommunications market.

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On a failli envoyer un communiqué disant qu’on arrêtait les négociations et qu’on mettait fin au deal.