Orange has until the end of March to negotiate a takeover of Bouygues Telecom, Martin Bouygues, CEO of conglomerate Bouygues, said today.
Orange (EPA:ORA) has until the end of March to negotiate a takeover of Bouygues Telecom, Martin Bouygues (pictured), CEO of conglomerate Bouygues (EPA:BOUY), said today.
Speaking at the company’s FY 2015 results, he was cited telling journalists that he wanted to limit disruption to clients, employees and the market.
He said Bouygues would need to receive a stake of between 10% and 15% in the enlarged group, and echoed Orange CEO Stéphane Richard in assigning the deal a 50% chance of going ahead.
The talks reportedly centre around a €10bn (US$10.8bn) deal involving €2bn (US$2.2bn) in cash and a 15% stake in Orange, as well as disposals to rivals Iliad and SFR worth €5bn (US$5.4bn) in order to appease the French competition authority, which will review any deal.
Martin Bouygues vowed to “pursue a standalone strategy” if the parties fail to reach a “win-win deal for all”.
Explaining his company’s willingness to consider a deal, he was cited saying: “I’m interested in having a stake in Orange’s capital to benefit from future value creation in France and abroad.”
Bouygues Telecom reported that FY 2015 EBITDA had risen 8% year-on-year to €752m (US$830m), having gained 769,000 mobile customers and 360,000 fixed broadband customers. The tie-up valuation represents more than 13x the group’s targeted €750m FY 2015 EBITDA.