France’s competition authority has approved the €13.5bn acquisition of mobile operator SFR by telecoms holding Altice and its cableco unit Numericable.
The regulator has however imposed a few conditions, which include requiring Altice to sell some…
France’s competition authority has approved the €13.5bn acquisition of mobile operator SFR by telecoms holding Altice and its cableco unit Numericable.
The regulator has however imposed a few conditions, which include requiring Altice to sell some overseas assets and Numericable to open its cable network to mobile carriers and MVNOs.
Specifically, Altice will need to sell Outremer Telecom so the combined Numericable-SFR entity does not become a dominant player in the overseas markets of La Reunion and Mayotte.
In early April this year, Vivendi-owned SFR chose Altice for a merger over local mobile operator Bouygues Telecom following weeks of heated battle.
The holding is looking to retain a 60% stake in the converged entity while Vivendi will own 20%.
In a statement at the time, Vivendi detailed a number of reasons for choosing Numericable over Bouygues, including that “all the experts consulted concluded that the Altice/Numericable offer presents the lowest competition risks. SFR and Numericable are not present on the same market segments and their activities are complementary”.
However, a few months later, the French competition authority opened an in-depth, phase II review of the SFR-Numericable deal, saying a detailed examination was necessary because “the transaction raises serious doubts about hindering competition”.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.
