Bouygues, Orange, Iliad In Talks With Altice for French Telecoms Deal -- Update

By Adria Calatayud

France's Bouygues, Orange and Free-iliad Group said they are in talks with Altice Group for a potential acquisition of most of its French telecommunications operations, giving another shot at a deal they first attempted last year.

The discussions come after Altice, owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi, in October rejected a joint nonbinding offer from the three companies for a large part of its French telecom business, called SFR, for 17 billion euros ($19.87 billion) including debt.

Talks with Altice are under way, Bouygues Telecom, Free-iliad Group and Orange said Thursday in a joint statement, without providing financial details.

Altice declined to comment.

The trio is pursuing a deal that would reduce the number of big operators in France to three from four, as telecom companies across Europe push for greater consolidation to ease competition, save on costs and gain scale. The bid to consolidate the French telecoms market follows in the footsteps of recent transactions in Spain and the U.K. that left their respective markets with three major players.

Altice, under pressure to reduce its debt pile, last year reached an agreement with creditors for a financial restructuring that diluted Drahi's ownership.

In their first bid last year, Bouygues Telecom, Free-iliad and Orange said they aimed to split and share the targeted operations, which included most of SFR's assets in France but excluded stakes in Intelcia, UltraEdge and XP Fibre, and Altice Technical Services, as well as some other activities in French overseas departments and regions.

Under that proposal, the implied valuation for Altice's France business as a whole was 21 billion euros including debt.

The companies said at the time that Bouygues Telecom would assume 43% of the deal price, with 30% for Free-iliad Group and 27% for Orange.

Altice promptly rejected their proposal, without giving a reason, but the suitors signaled they still saw merit in a deal. Iliad Group's Deputy Chief Executive Aude Durand said in an interview in December that the offer had some potential and was well suited to the circumstances of the market.

The consortium didn't specify the scope of the bid this time around, or the price split among the companies.

"The legal and financial terms of the transaction have not yet been agreed upon," Bouygues Telecom, Free-iliad Group and Orange said Thursday.

Due diligence began in early January and there is no certainty that the process will result in any deal, they added.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-22-26 0535ET