BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Orange (>> ORANGE SA) and Bouygues (>> BOUYGUES) are discussing different deal structures about the sale of the construction group's Bouygues Telecom unit to the French telecoms operator, Orange Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard said Monday.
"Everything is negotiable," Richard told journalists on the first day of the Mobile World Congress, referring to the talks the French telecoms operator has been holding since the start of the year with Bouygues about the possible acquisition of its telecoms unit.
"We're talking, we are working. There's a lot to talk about. We haven't reached a decision yet, we need a little bit more time," Richard added.
The deal, which would have to be vetted by France's competition authority, would cut the number of French telecoms operators from four to three.
It would also require asset sales to the two other main players in the French telecoms market Numericable-SFR (>> Numericable Group) and Iliad (>> ILIAD). It would also make Bouygues, headed by French billionaire Martin Bouygues, one of Orange's key shareholders after the French state.
Richard also said that he would meet with representatives from Microsoft, Google and Facebook on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain, editing by Astrid Wendlandt)
