-- Bouygues Telecom, which is part of the Bouygues (EN.PA, ENNV.PA) group, Orange (ORA.PA) and Free-iliad Group are set to begin exclusive talks after submitting a new offer to acquire Altice France's SFR for a total enterprise value of 20.35 billion euros.
Following the news, Bouygues and Orange shares were trading over 1% and almost 4% lower, respectively, in Paris as of Friday midday.
Altice France granted an exclusivity period to the consortium of three French telecommunications companies until May 15 to finalize a deal for its SFR telecoms business, according to a same-day joint release. The latest offer is an improvement from the initial 17 billion-euro bid in October 2025 that was rejected by Altice.
The proposed transaction, which comes after a due diligence phase that commenced in 2026, includes the majority of assets operated by Altice France-SFR, but excludes certain shareholdings and Altice France's operations in French overseas departments and regions.
The consortium will split the price and value of the acquisition between them, with Bouygues Telecom covering 42%, Orange taking on 27% and Free-iliad being responsible for the remaining 31%, with the deal expected to help sustain and bolster France's digital economy and its telecommunications sector.
"[The acquisition] is favourable for Bouygues and Orange as it will reduce from 4 to 3 the number of players in France. Note it is all the more favourable to Orange that the EUR3.35bn extra compared to the first offer correspond to only c.EUR900m for the group," analysts at AlphaValue/Baader Europe said in a note.
The consortium cautioned that there is no certainty that an agreement will materialize from the new offer. The deal also remains subject to regulatory approvals and a consultation with relevant employee representative bodies.