French cableco Numericable is in exclusive negotiations with the owners of Virgin Mobile France, which include Carphone Warehouse, to buy the MVNO. The price tag for the purchase is €325m (US$445.8m) to which Vivendi, the parent of mobile operator…
French cableco Numericable is in exclusive negotiations with the owners of Virgin Mobile France, which include Carphone Warehouse, to buy the MVNO.
The price tag for the purchase is €325m (US$445.8m) to which Vivendi, the parent of mobile operator SFR, will contribute €200m (US$274.3m).
SFR is in the process of being sold to Numericable. Vivendi’s participation will enhance the value of its minority stake in Numericable post-merger, the cableco’s owner, Altice, said in a statement.
Virgin Mobile will be acquired from Omea Telecom, which is 46%-owned by UK telecoms retailer Carphone Warehouse. The other shareholders include the Virgin Group (46%) and management (8%). Omea owns several other MVNOs in France.
The sale of Virgin Mobile comes hot on the heels of Carphone agreeing a £3.8bn (US$6.4bn) merger with British electricals vendor Dixons. Yesterday, the companies finally confirmed the all-share deal.
It had been previously speculated that once combined with Dixons, Carphone would seek to divest its French unit, which has 1.7 million subscribers, making it the largest MVNO in the country.
Both SFR and smaller rival Bouygues Telecom had also been linked to an acquisition of Virgin Mobile.
The French market is experiencing a shake-up since Vivendi agreed to sell SFR to Numericable to create a strong converged operator earlier in the year.
Bouygues Tel, the defeated bidder in the SFR race, is under pressure to take measure to remain competitive and buying Virgin Mobile would have allowed it to keep its head above water.
But reports now suggest that Bouygues Tel might be a target of incumbent Orange instead. In a statement yesterday, the French giant confirmed it is “exploring the opportunities the changes in the telecommunications sector in France present”. But Orange stressed that its leading position gives it complete independence in its decision-making.
SFR already provides services to 70% of Virgin’s customers. The deal between Numericable and Virgin Mobile will fully integrate this subscriber base in the new converged telco.
DC Advisory reportedly advised the MVNO on the transaction, which is subject to approval by the French competition authority.
