Patrick Drahi could outbid
A Bouygues Board of Directors was convened on Tuesday to study the offer of SFR. Purposeful, Martin Bouygues continues to push these advances to raise the stakes. "The offer of Drahi is inappropriate and not fastened, including its financing, 'says one of his lieutenants. The CEO of Bouygues remembers IL CACHE well her game. By dint of repeating that he has "the peasant mind," in contrast to its competitors obsessed with their share price, it is neither énarque as the CEO of Orange, or polytechnic, such as SFR, the more I believe that the son of Francis Bouygues is exceeded. Almost old-hat by the financial Patrick Drahi (SFR), the bluffer Xavier Niel (Free) or the clever Stephane Richard (Orange). In February, during the publication of the 2014 accounts the group, he had insisted he would not sell Bouygues Telecom. "You would sell your wife? "Had he dropped the JDD.
Obviously, it was to send the signal to his opponents that he would not let eaten alive. Whoever hunting every weekend in Sologne was able to play for time to climb trees impatient Patrick Drahi. Though weakened, he resisted to reverse the balance of power and must go. If he sells his phone subsidiary nearly 11 billion euros, Martin Bouygues receive an unexpected jackpot while the market value between 3 and 5 billion ... Eleven billion is almost the battle for SFR, year past. His perseverance had forced the flamboyant Drahi to add 2 billion cash at the last night of negotiations. This time, Martin Bouygues gets the message that it would be prepared to sell its subsidiary, he created twenty years ago, to 11 billion. According to a source close to the negotiations, SFR could improve its offer by Tuesday council to win the bet. Martin Bouygues wants to bend his rival. He also wants SFR value of all the Bouygues group in Exchange. A stroke of poker that financial appreciate.
Last year, he had already sold Alstom, in which it held 30% to 12 billion. It will recover 1.2 billion in the form of share repurchases. In total, his war chest could reach 12 billion euros in cash. What ferat- it? His family stress that Martin Bouygues dream of closing his career - he has 63 and leads the group for twenty-six years - by locking the control of his family on the empire of BTP. A dream unfulfilled by Francis assumes all risk of competition. "Offers of Drahi, it receives every two weeks, irritated a group administrator. If his is conditional on approval from the Competition Authority, it will not look the same. "
If he touches a check for nearly $ 11 billion, Martin Bouygues will have achieved a tour de force. For two years, all his opponents have tried to make him give in to nothing. After several successive refusals, he would succeed Bouygues. Today, he and his brother hold only 20%.
Climbing above 50%, he would bequeath to his three children a secure group. Away from small 6% he inherited on the death of his father in 1993 and earned him a violent offensive by Vincent Bolloré four years later. Others attribute to him views on major French companies like Veolia to enjoy its international exposure. But the adventure Alstom cooled. Unless the combative Martin Bouygues only to start all hunting. P. Towards a rise in prices?
For his part, Patrick Drahi would complete its fourth major acquisition in a year after SFR, Portugal Telecom and Suddenlink in the United States. By acquiring Bouygues, SFR will become the first mobile operator with half of the market and the other for Internet access behind Orange. But Drahi will add 10 billion debt to his group Altice, who already accumulates 32 billion ... The Stock Exchange during Bouygues, SFR, Orange and Free are expected to fly tomorrow, all investors speculating on a market concentration to three operators .
Ultimately, marriage SFRBouygues Telecom will be complex. Analysts at BNP Paribas estimate that by 2020 the new group could lose 8% market share in favor of Free ... who would recover naturally subscribers. Xavier Niel and double its market share from 10% to 20% without spending a fortune. The question is whether the return to three operators would cause a rise in prices. Unlikely in the mobile, which remains a product of call where the troublemaker Free low cost has made his trademark. However, they could increase for Internet box, whose clients movements are weak. SFR setting the fiber to inflate its prices and margins, as Orange. Those of Free are already 40%.