AMF, France’s financial markets authority, is reportedly investigating the sale process of SFR, which saw cableco Numericable emerge as the successful bidder for the mobile operator earlier this year.
The regulator went to the various parties’…
AMF, France’s financial markets authority, is reportedly investigating the sale process of SFR, which saw cableco Numericable emerge as the successful bidder for the mobile operator earlier this year.
The regulator went to the various parties’ offices, including defeated suitor Bouygues Telecom, in late June to collect documents in relation to the deal, according to business newsletter La Lettre de l’Expansion which does not mention sources.
The regulator and the companies declined to comment when contacted by TelecomFinance.
In early April Vivendi-owned SFR picked the €13.5bn offer submitted by Numericable and its owner Altice. The decision followed weeks of an intense bidding war between Numericable and Bouygues Tel, which was hopeful a consolidation deal would stop it from steadily losing market share.
During that time, AMF reportedly asked the parties involved to be more transparent.
The merger of SFR and Numericable is scheduled to close by the end of the year.
A few days ago, the head of France’s competition watchdog, Bruno Lasserre, was quoted saying that the merger would be reviewed in Q3. The transaction is however unlikely to be investigated by the European regulator because it only involves French companies.
