Iliad no longer interested in Bouygues Telecom after focus switch to T-Mobile US; Blackstone could partner on T-Mobile deal
Iliad, the listed French telco trading under the Free brand, is no longer interested in peer Bouygues Telecom, French daily Les Echos reported. The report cited Iliad finance director Thomas Reynaud as saying that consolidation with Bouygues Telecom was no longer on the agenda and that his group was happy with having four operators competing on the French market.
Another report from daily L’Agefi cited Xavier Niel, the head and owner of Iliad, as saying that the French telecoms sector is unlikely to experience any consolidation in the short term. According to the report, Iliad made a EUR 5bn offer for Bouygues Telecom just before the summer but now considers listed French conglomerate Bouygues is not prepared to selling its telecoms subsidiary.
Iliad made a USD 15bn offer for Bellevue, Washington phone group T-Mobile US, currently owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom. In the les Echos report Reynaud added the group has received interest from corporate and financial players with experience in the telecoms sector, willing to take part in a T-Mobile US deal. Reynaud said Iliad was working on improving terms for a deal which could lead to USD 10bn in synergies.
An unsourced article from daily La Tribune reported new rumours that investment fund Blackstone join forces with Iliad on its takeover bid for T-Mobile US, The same item reiterated talk of Englewood, Colorado-based DISH Network might come on board. The report went on to say that Iliad could improve its offer by between USD 2.7bn and up to USD 4bn.
Source Les Echos, L'agefi, La Tribune