Coin Press - French mobile operators agree 20.4-bn-euro joint bid for SFR

The deal, reached Saturday and subject to regulatory approval, is one of the biggest European telecoms deals in recent years, and represents a major shake-up in France's telecommunications sector.

The three operators behind it -- Bouygues Telecom, Free and Orange -- plan to break up SFR and divide its assets between them.

The key question is how regulators will view the acquisition, which would reduce the number of mobile operators in France from four to three. The European Commission has in past resisted consolidation, and France is a major market in the EU.

The move could reduce competition in the country, but also increase the investment capacity of the three remaining players in fibre, 5G and future networks.

Under the memorandum of understanding they agreed, Bouygues Telecom would get the biggest share of SFR, 42 percent, including SFR's business-to-business operations, according to a statement.

Free would get 31 percent and Orange 27 percent.

The headline bid figure includes debt.

The consortium, which entered into exclusive negotiations with SFR in April, hopes to have the transaction approved and completed by the second half of 2027.

It has promised to protect the jobs of SFR's 8,000 employees up to the beginning of 2029, though unions are concerned that they have not been told how many positions would migrate to the three other companies.

A.Samuel--CPN