French telecoms minister Fleur Pellerin has said the government will pay close attention to Vivendi’s plans for its telecoms unit SFR, stressing it will do all it can to ensure the asset doesn’t end up in the hands of “unscrupulous”…
French telecoms minister Fleur Pellerin has said the government will pay close attention to Vivendi’s plans for its telecoms unit SFR, stressing it will do all it can to ensure the asset doesn’t end up in the hands of “unscrupulous” investors.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Pellerin described SFR as an important strategic business for France. She added that the government is also very attuned to the capital structure of telecoms and media giant Vivendi, saying it is important for France to retain its multinational conglomerates.
Vivendi is reportedly in talks with cableco Numericable about a potential merger with SFR, although the companies have declined to comment on the matter.
Pellerin did not say the government would oppose such a merger. Saying she wants the telecoms sector to retain four major players, she noted a merger between an existing operator and Numericable, with its fixed-line focus, would not necessarily reduce the number to three.
France’s four mobile network operators are France Telecom-Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad’s Free Mobile, which made its market debut in January.
Pellerin said that while she believes the previous government did not prepare adequately for the arrival of relatively low-cost Free, which has significantly impacted rivals’ margins, she supports its presence in the marketplace as it has led to lower prices and improved innovation and customer service.
