SFR Sale: Due Diligence Completed in 5 Weeks — Binding Offer Expected by End of April
TELECOM | M&A | FRANCE
Target |
SFR (Altice France subsidiary) |
Seller |
Patrick Drahi (Altice) |
Buyers |
Consortium of Orange / Free (Iliad) / Bouygues Telecom |
Lead |
Bouygues (CEO Olivier Roussat, assisted by Richard Viel, former Bouygues Telecom CEO) |
Indicative Valuation |
~€21bn (full Altice) vs €28bn one year ago (debt restructuring) |
Initial Bid (Rejected) |
€17bn (Oct 14) — rejected by Drahi |
Due Diligence |
5 weeks (early Jan — Feb 8, 2026); ~200 people involved |
Binding Offer |
Expected by end of April 2026 |
Political Timeline |
Goal: close before 2027 presidential campaign |
Key Takeaways
▸ Exceptionally fast due diligence (5 weeks only): strong signal that both seller and buyers want to converge quickly.
▸ The Élysée is pushing for resolution before the 2027 presidential election, fearing electoral uncertainty will weigh on deal conditions.
▸ The consortium indicated it would raise its offer "substantially" above the initial €17bn, but no binding offer has been submitted yet.
▸ Antitrust process: extensive informal exchanges with the French Competition Authority (ADLC) to prepare the ground. ADLC could process the case in under one year.
▸ Expected safeguards: social moratorium (2-3 years without layoff plans), potential cap on telecom subscription price increases.
▸ Option to notify directly to the European Commission, which could either handle the case or refer it back to ADLC.
Market Impact
▸ Bouygues: share price up from ~€31 to ~€48 since negotiations began a year ago.
▸ Orange: share price up from ~€10 to ~€17 over the same period.
▸ Analysts are betting on the benefits of French telecom market consolidation (from 4 to 3 operators).