The proposed €20.35 billion ($23.25bn) carve-up of SFR’s assets in France will be reviewed by the French antitrust watchdog.. The Autorité de la concurrence noted this week that the European Commission has decided the French regulator is best placed to make a decision on the deal that would see France’s telecom operators shrink to three from four.. – Getty Images.
Bouygues, Orange, and Free struck an agreement to acquire SFR’s assets in France last month after lengthy negotiations.. The agreement will see Altice’s mobile unit SFR split between the three telcos.. As part of the deal, Bouygues Telecom will take a 42 percent share of the assets, while Free-Iliad Group will snap up 31 percent, and Orange will take the remaining 27 percent..
As the deal would see the French public lose one of its four operators, regulators will assess whether this has a negative impact on competition in the market.. In the past, the European Commission has been tough on consolidation, notably rejecting O2 and Three’s proposed UK merger back in 2016, though has softened its stance in recent years, for example, approving Orange and MásMóvil’s Spanish merger in 2024..
On this occasion, the EC has told Autorité to conduct its own review of the planned carve-up.. “In agreement with the company that requested the referral, the European Commission considered the French competition authority was the best placed to examine the transaction, in particular in view of its impact on the French market, the experience of the Autorité in the sector concerned, and the fact the transaction is linked to two transactions with a national dimension,” said Autorité in a statement.. “The Autorité is now, therefore, competent to examine the Iliad transaction. It will, nonetheless, continue to cooperate with the European Commission during the review.”.
However, don’t expect a decision anytime soon, with the Autorité noting that it will take 18 months to assess the implications of the deal, meaning the transaction won’t be completed until 2028 at the earliest.. “At the end of its review of the three transactions, during which all stakeholders concerned will be consulted, in particular consumer protection organizations and the competent sector regulators, the Autorité will issue a decision on each transaction. In view of the complexity of the cases and the characteristics of the markets concerned, the review will last at least 18 months,” added the regulator..
Altice owner Patrick Drahi immediately rejected a €17bn ($19.4bn) offer from the consortium to acquire SFR in October. The trio then put forward an offer of €20.35 billion ($23.25bn) to snap up the telco in April.. Altice pushing to trim debts.
The sale is part of Altice’s plans to shift assets in order to pay down its mounting debt.. The company is open to selling its telecoms business and previously spun off its French data center assets, forming a new company with more than 250 facilities in France, which were then sold to Morgan Stanley..
Altice has been in talks over a deal to sell its Portuguese mobile unit, and has separately looked to sell off its data center unit in the country. The telco also notably sold its 24.5 percent stake in BT.. Earlier this year, the company also shortlisted four bidders for a controlling stake in French fiber company XpFibre, in which Altice currently owns a majority stake of 50.01 percent..
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