Bouygues Telecom, Orange, and Free-iliad Group have signed a memorandum of understanding with Altice France to acquire SFR in a transaction valued at €20.35 billion, including debt, marking one of Europe’s largest telecom deals in recent years.
The proposed acquisition would reduce France’s mobile operator market from four players to three. Bouygues Telecom will receive assets representing 52 percent of SFR’s revenue, Free-iliad 27 percent, and Orange 21 percent. The purchase price allocation is approximately 42 percent for Bouygues Telecom, 31 percent for Free-iliad and 27 percent for Orange.
Orange’s share of the transaction is valued at €5.6 billion. The company will acquire approximately 4 million mobile customers and 1 million fixed broadband customers, increasing its French mobile customer base by 18 percent and broadband customer base by 8 percent.
The acquired customer portfolio generated around €1.7 billion in revenue and €0.6 billion in EBITDAaL in 2025. Orange will gain 47 MHz of spectrum, representing 31 percent of SFR’s spectrum holdings, taking its total spectrum portfolio in France to 221 MHz.
Orange expects annual synergies of more than €0.5 billion within five years of closing, with 60 percent coming from network optimization, 20 percent from IT and support functions, and 20 percent from distribution efficiencies. Integration costs are estimated at €1.3 billion over five years. After integration, the acquired assets are expected to contribute approximately €0.9 billion in annual EBITDAaL to Orange France.
The consortium has committed to protecting jobs within the acquired businesses until 2029. The deal includes break-up fees ranging from €100 million to €2 billion, while Orange’s potential exposure ranges from €30 million to €700 million depending on the circumstances.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory and competition approvals.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
