Altice agreed to sell SFR to Bouygues, Orange and Free (Iliad) – assuming it wins regulatory approvals, it will be the biggest shake-up in French telecoms since Iliad joined the fray in 2012
After months of negotations, Altice France has finally agreed to French telecoms groups Bouygues Telecom, Orange and Free (a brand owned by Iliad Group) jointly acquiring France’s fourth operator, SFR. The deal values SFR at €20.35 billion.
Altice Group is controlled by the French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi and acquired SFR in 2014. Drahi’s empire was largely built on debt which now amount to about €60 billion. It has opcos across Europe and assets in the US.
Altice has struggled since the cost of servicing debt rose sharply post COVID due to inflation and other adverse factors. In 2025 Drahi renegotiated Altice France’s debt down from about €24 billion to €15.5 billion.
Back where they started?
Negotiations with SFR’s rivals began in April 2025 when the three offered Altice France a similar amount to that which has been accepted a year later. It was originally rejected as being too low. The three went on to offer Altice France €17 billion in October, which was also rejected.
Now the three buyers face regulatory hurdles to get one of the biggest telecoms deals in France over the line since cut-price Iliad group burst onto the scene in 2012.
Under the proposed deal, the companies will share out SFR’s assets. Bouygues is expected to take the the largest portion – assets that deliver about 52% of the revenue – followed by Iliad with 27% and Orange at 21%.
Orange and Bouygues are to file their proposed acquisition in France, where they generate more than two-thirds of their turnover within the EU. This exempts them from an obligation to notify the European Commission under EU merger rules, according to Reuters’ report.
However, this is not the case for Iliad which must file in Brussels with the European Commission.
After that, the French and EU regulators will agree who is to lead the merger review.
Regulatory attitudes might have shifted
Orange group’s CEO, Christel Heydemann (pictured), reportedly told analysts on a call, “What’s important for us is to have one authority in the driving seat to make sure the process is efficient”. She also said the company had strong relationships with both.
Kester Mann, Director, Consumer and Connectivity, FDM CSS Insight, noted, “The agreement appears a successful outcome for all parties. Bouygues, Orange and Iliad each gain important new assets in their pursuit of greater scale, while eliminating a major rival [which] will reduce the competitive intensity of the market. For Altice, it ends months of speculation surrounding its heavy debt burden.”
He added, “The biggest challenge now is to convince competition authorities that the deal will bring positive outcomes to the French market. Several years ago, this would have felt like a Herculean task. But the regulatory tide has steadily been turning favour of consolidation in Europe following recent deals approved in the UK [the merger of Vodafone and Three UK] and Spain [which as seen a wave of consolidations in the last 3 years including Vodafone selling out and merging with regional service providers, and Orange merging with then buying out MasMovil]. Although a lengthy probe is likely, it is surely odds-on to get the green light.”
Mann is referring to the merger of Vodafone and Three UK last year to create the biggest operator group in that country. Spain has seen a wave of consolidations in the last three years including Vodafone being bought out and merging with several regional service providers, and Orange merging with then buying out MasMovil.
If the the deal is approved by regulators, Bouygues, Orange and Free/Iliad said they expect signing of the definitive legal documents in the second half of this year with completion in the second half of 2027.
