(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 17 apr - French telecom operators Bouygues Telecom, the Free-Iliad group and Orange said they have entered into exclusive negotiations with the Altice France group for the acquisition of SFR.

Following the due diligence phase initiated in 2026, Bouygues Telecom, the Free-Iliad group and Orange announce that they have submitted a new offer and are starting exclusive negotiations with the Altice France group with a view to acquiring SFR.

This offer reflects a total enterprise value of 20.35 billion euros for the Altice France assets under consideration.

Altice France has granted an exclusivity period to the consortium until May 15 in order to finalize the terms and the transaction documents.

The potential deal would allow to strengthen investments in the resilience of very high-speed broadband networks, in cybersecurity, as well as in innovation and new technologies such as artificial intelligence. It would also consolidate control over strategic infrastructure in France, and maintain a competitive ecosystem for the benefit of consumers.

The offer covers the acquisition of the majority of assets operated by Altice France-SFR, excluding shareholdings in ACS/Intelcia, XP Fibre, Ultraedge and Altice Technical Services, as well as the Altice France group's operations in the French overseas departments and regions.

The B2B business and customers would be taken over by Bouygues Telecom. The B2C business and customers would be shared between Bouygues Telecom, Free-Iliad and Orange, while the other assets and resources (in particular infrastructure and spectrum) would be shared between Bouygues Telecom, Free-Iliad and Orange, except for SFR's mobile network in less densely populated areas, which would be taken over by Bouygues Telecom.

The split of price and value between buyers would be around 42% for Bouygues Telecom, 31% for the Free-Iliad group and 27% for Orange.

The transaction will be subject to prior consultation with the relevant employee representative bodies. It will then be subject to review by the competent regulatory authorities, in particular with regards to merger control guidelines.

At this stage, there is no certainty that this offer will.

result in an agreement, the companies cautioned.

(RADIOCOR) 17-04-26 08:45:02 (0155) 5 NNNN