The financial structure of a possible Bouygues, SFR operation remains unknown. Bouygues, who wants to stay in telecoms, is willing to give its mobile network and frequencies.
Wednesday night, 20 hours, applicants redemption SFR must have filed their preliminary offers from Vivendi, its parent company. The file Altice and its subsidiary Numericable is completed, banks are willing to finance. To look good with the public authorities, the group led by Patrick Drahi has provided guarantees in terms of employment and investment, Tuesday, in the columns of "Figaro."
Bouygues is almost done too. The construction group, trapped by deflation rates in Mobile, trying to come out on top. If possible without rushing into the arms of Free, who broke the price and business model for operators. It therefore has no alternative but to marry Numericable - who loves another - or with SFR - he knows well, since their teams work together for months to share their mobile networks.
Having extensively studied the issue since 2012, the third mobile operator so will file an offer on SFR. "Bouygues Numericable knew was going to say, and had time to prepare in recent months, says it at Vivendi. It will file an outline of the project, then there will be a return trip with the candidates to refine. "According to another source at Vivendi, the deadline of March 5, displayed to force everyone to write down his offer is not a cleaver.
So far, Bouygues has nothing leaked from the offer. It would, a priori, an absorption SFR Bouygues and not a merger of equals. "Vivendi has made it clear that he wanted out of telecoms. The opposite of Bouygues, who just wants to stay and grow in the industry, "says does one side Bouygues. Another certainty to pass the test of competition, the construction group will make significant sacrifices. He seems prepared to sell all its mobile network to Free and frequencies and shops - but not subscribers.
The conglomerate 's financial profile would be transformed. To make an offer around 15 billion euros, the group, which is worth 9.2 billion euros traded over 4.4 billion of debt, will borrow and eventually realize a capital increase . "Given the current enterprise value of Bouygues, which amounted to 13.6 billion Euros, this transaction would be a radical change in the strategic and financial times, and may significantly increase the Group's debt "said Frederic Boulan, at Nomura. Currently, the group has a healthy financial profile, with an estimated 1.6 times the EBITDA net debt. This ratio could double.
Two complex structures
Mounting the operation Numericable is no less complex. The debt of the new entity will amount to € 10.4 billion, or 3.4 times the EBITDA. Her mother Altice reach € 16.4 billion in consolidated, or 4.1 times Ebitda. Even if it is less than the pan lever cable operator LibertyGlobal (5 times Ebitda) is a lot. "The financial plan is tight. We'll have the new group emerges savings quickly to repay the debt, "near critical Bouygues. The argument shock side Bouygues, is the reduction in the number of mobile operators from April to March, says the same source: "This will restore oxygen to Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, n 'have more, and this will help to perpetuate Free Mobile ".
The Numericable operation, it does not change the market structure and isolates a little more Bouygues. But in the SFR Bouygues-project, the competitive risk is very strong "Drahi is easy but there is a funding problem;. Bouygues, it solves the problem of the sector, but there are issues of employment and competition, "said one close to Vivendi. Nobody is perfect.
