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Three French telecoms agree to buy and divide competitor
🇵🇱 Poland /Economy & Trade

Three French telecoms agree to buy and divide competitor

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Three major French telecom operators – Orange, Iliad, and Bouygues – have signed a letter of intent to acquire and divide competitor Altice France's SFR.
  • The proposed deal, valued at over 20 billion euros, aims to reduce the number of major broadband and mobile providers in France from four to three.
  • The operators are awaiting regulatory approval, with a decision expected within weeks, potentially from either French antitrust authorities or the European Commission.

A significant shift in France's telecommunications landscape is on the horizon as three of the nation's largest operators, Orange, Iliad, and Bouygues Telecom, have entered into a preliminary agreement to acquire and subsequently divide the assets of their competitor, Altice France, which operates SFR.

This transformative transaction will preserve a highly competitive ecosystem and strengthen the sector's long-term capacity to invest, innovate, and anticipate significant technological changes.

— Orange statementExplaining the rationale behind the proposed acquisition

The proposed transaction, with an announced value of 20.3 billion euros including debt, focuses on SFR's telecommunications business within France. This move, if approved, would consolidate the market from four major players to three, a departure from the long-standing market structure. The operators have indicated they will submit their applications for regulatory approval within days.

By enabling each operator to increase their scale of operations and enhance their investment capabilities, this transaction aims to support the development of more resilient, sovereign, and efficient digital communication services and infrastructure in France.

— Orange statementFurther elaborating on the expected benefits of the deal

Orange, Iliad (owner of Play in Poland), and Bouygues Telecom are seeking approval from competition authorities, with the process expected to take several weeks. The decision could rest with the French antitrust authority or the European Commission, though Iliad's CEO, Thomas Reynaud, expressed a preference for a single regulatory body to handle the review for simplicity.

it would be good if one entity handled the matter to simplify the procedure.

— Thomas ReynaudIliad CEO, on the regulatory review process

In a joint statement, the companies argued that this "transformative transaction" would preserve a highly competitive ecosystem and enhance the sector's long-term capacity for investment and innovation. They believe that by allowing each operator to scale up operations, the deal will foster the development of more resilient, sovereign, and efficient digital communication services and infrastructure in France. Finalizing the deal is anticipated in the latter half of the year, with a potential completion in 2027, though the operators caution that the transaction is not yet certain.

it will become clear within a few weeks whether the decision will be made by the French antitrust authority or possibly the European Commission.

— Christel HeydemannOrange CEO, on the timeline for regulatory decisions
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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