Iliad, which controls French mobile operator Free Mobile, will not try to acquire rival Bouygues Telecom, its owner Xavier Niel said today.
In an interview with BFM Radio, Niel noted that, for regulatory reasons, consolidation in France cannot happen…
Iliad, which controls French mobile operator Free Mobile, will not try to acquire rival Bouygues Telecom, its owner Xavier Niel said today.
In an interview with BFM Radio, Niel noted that, for regulatory reasons, consolidation in France cannot happen without Iliad but added that his company is not interested.
Therefore, France will remain a four-player market, he said.
Ever since Iliad launched mobile services at slashed-down prices in 2012, its rivals Orange, SFR and Bouygues Tel have experienced some difficulties.
Number three Bouygues Tel has been the most impacted by the price war and, since losing out to local cableco Numericable in its attempt to take over SFR earlier this year, has been rumoured to be a potential target.
However, in July, Orange dropped its consolidation ambitions in France while Iliad decided to turn its attention to the US market, and T-Mobile US in particular.
A few weeks ago, Deutsche Telekom rebuffed the French telco’s second offer for T-Mobile US, fuelling speculation that Iliad would instead focus on acquisitions in its home country.
Orange is France’s largest mobile player in terms of subscribers, followed by SFR, Bouygues Tel and Free.
Late last month, France’s competition authority approved the €13.5bn acquisition of SFR by Numericable and its owner Altice. The new converged entity is expected to compete more directly with Orange.
