Bouygues Telecom, Free and Orange signed a memorandum to acquire SFR SA from Altice France for €20.35 billion. The memorandum splits the deal 42% for Bouygues Telecom, 31% for Free and 27% for Orange.
For Bouygues Telecom, the package includes all of SFR Business, about €1.2 billion in revenue, plus part of SFR’s consumer business. That consumer slice covers 3.8 million mobile customers and 2.6 million fixed-line customers.
The package also gives Bouygues Telecom SFR’s mobile network in non-dense areas under the Crozon network-sharing agreement, the fixed B2B infrastructure and SFR’s share of the FTTH network in very dense areas. Bouygues Telecom said the synergies could reach up to €1 billion per year at steady state by 2034, while Orange said they could generate more than €0.5 billion per year within five years. Thomas Reynaud, chief executive of iliad, said: “In a sector that must keep investing in networks, cybersecurity, cloud and artificial intelligence, solid players are needed. Digital sovereignty is not decreed; it is financed.”
Bouygues Telecom’s operating package
Bouygues Telecom is the main operational winner in the split. It would take over SFR Business, absorb part of the consumer base and gain assets tied to mobile, fixed B2B and FTTH infrastructure.
The deal math behind the consortium
The consortium is composed of Bouygues Telecom, Free and Orange. The structure gives Bouygues Telecom 42% of the deal, Free 31% and Orange 27%.
What this means for French telecom buyers
French enterprise and wholesale buyers now have a named buyer for SFR Business and the associated fixed and mobile assets. The operators say they expect transparent transitions and a long-term increase in investment capacity in 5G and fiber networks thanks to synergies, but the memorandum still marks the start of a redistribution exercise, not the end of one.