Altice France has turned down a joint €17 billion approach for SFR from Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad.
The proposal, lodged on 14 October, envisaged carving up most of SFR between the three operators, excluding assets such as Intelcia, UltraEdge, XP Fibre, Altice Technical Services and overseas operations. Bouygues was understood to take the largest portion, with Iliad and Orange receiving the remainder.
In an internal note on Wednesday, Altice France said the offer was turned down immediately, while the bidders reiterated interest and called for constructive talks. “The three operators remain convinced of the relevance of their bid and of the value of the project they are pursuing for the market and all its stakeholders, customers, employees, creditors and shareholders. Indeed, such a project would both preserve a competitive ecosystem to the benefit of consumers and support continued investment in national telecom infrastructure,” they said.
Altice recently completed a debt restructuring, giving owner Patrick Drahi options ranging from selective disposals to maintaining SFR as a standalone operator. For Orange, Bouygues and Iliad, consolidation would promise scale benefits and network investment efficiencies—but the regulatory path remains uncertain.
