Vivendi agreed to sell SFR, France’s second-largest mobile operator, to Altice/Numericable in a deal that could value the business at more than €17 billion.
Vivendi rejected a rival offer from telecoms group Bouyges. The announcement concludes the negotiations with Altice/Numericable regarding a combination with SFR as part of a mutually agreed exclusive period signed on March 14.
The deal with Altice/Numericable would involve an initial payment of €13.5 billion, followed by another payment of €750 million and eventually the ability to own and then sell its 20% stake in the new enterprise.
“After thorough discussions, the Supervisory Board decided unanimously to select the Altice/Numericable offer which corresponds to the industrial project offering the highest growth potential, generating the highest value for its customers, employees and shareholders, while best meeting Vivendi’s objectives, ” the company said in a statement.
“The Altice/Numericable project is based on fixed and mobile convergence, with synergies resulting from the interdependence of the two merged entities’ networks. SFR-Numericable’s positions in very high speed fixed and mobile will generate new growth opportunities, an acceleration of the number of connected lines and very high quality offers for enterprise and retail customers. They will also offer important development opportunities for Quadruple Play and new usage.”
The Altice/Numericable agreement also presents the lowest competition risks. SFR and Numericable are not present on the same market segments and their activities are complementary. A sale to Bouyges Telecom would almost certainly lead to objections from the competiton authority.
