A consortium of French telecommunications companies has agreed to buy billionaire Patrick Drahi’s SFR in a deal valuing the country’s second-largest mobile operator at €20.4 billion.

Bouygues Telecom, Orange, and the Free–Iliad group signed a memorandum of understanding with Drahi’s Altice France to acquire SFR and split its assets and customers. The deal, expected to be completed in the second half of 2027, remains subject to regulatory approvals.

In practice, the acquisition removes a major player from the French market, as Bouygues, Iliad, and Orange plan to divide SFR’s assets and customers, reducing the market to three major players from four.

European telecom groups have been pushing for years for the European Union to ease merger rules, arguing that intense competition limits their ability to generate returns and invest in new infrastructure such as 5G, fiber-optic networks, and data centers.

The deal must undergo an in-depth review by competition authorities to assess “its consequences for the market, the diversity of offerings, as well as the competitive balance,” French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said, according to Bloomberg.

Drahi, who was born in Morocco and lives in Israel, founded Altice in 2001, turning the telecom company into a major empire through acquisitions. He has a fortune worth approximately $7.5 billion, according to Bloomberg. In recent years, he has been selling assets and restructuring his debt.

Source: moneyreview.gr