Bouygues Telecom Iliad Group and Orange Enter Exclusive Talks with Altice France for Potential €20 Billion Acquisition of SFR Assets

Bouygues Telecom Iliad Group and Orange Enter Exclusive Talks with Altice France for Potential €20 Billion Acquisition of SFR Assets

(IN BRIEF) Bouygues Telecom, the Iliad Group, and Orange have entered exclusive negotiations with Altice France to acquire SFR, following a due diligence phase and the submission of a revised offer valuing the assets at €20.35 billion. The proposed transaction aims to strengthen France’s telecommunications sector by supporting infrastructure investment, enhancing cybersecurity, and advancing innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, while maintaining service continuity and market competition. The deal outlines a structured division of SFR’s assets among the three companies, with Bouygues Telecom taking the B2B segment and a significant share of infrastructure, while consumer operations would be split across all parties. The agreement remains subject to employee consultations and regulatory approvals, and there is no guarantee that the negotiations will result in a completed transaction.

(PRESS RELEASE) PARIS, 17-Apr-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Bouygues Telecom, the Iliad Group (parent company of Free), and Orange have entered into exclusive negotiations with Altice France regarding the potential acquisition of SFR, following the completion of a due diligence process launched earlier in 2026.

The consortium has submitted a revised offer valuing the Altice France assets under consideration at approximately €20.35 billion in total enterprise value. Altice France has granted exclusivity to the three parties until 15 May 2026, during which time they will work to finalize the structure of the transaction and complete the necessary agreements.

The proposed transaction is positioned as a strategic industrial move within France’s mature telecommunications market, aiming to ensure continuity of service for SFR customers while strengthening the sector’s long-term development. The acquisition is expected to support increased investment in resilient high-speed broadband infrastructure, enhance cybersecurity capabilities, and accelerate innovation in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. It also seeks to reinforce national control over critical telecom infrastructure while preserving a competitive landscape for consumers.

The scope of the offer includes most of the assets operated by Altice France-SFR, while excluding certain holdings such as ACS/Intelcia, XP Fibre, Ultraedge, Altice Technical Services, and the group’s operations in French overseas territories.

Under the proposed structure, the consortium has outlined a division of activities among the participating companies. Bouygues Telecom would assume responsibility for the business-to-business segment and its associated customers. The business-to-consumer operations would be distributed among Bouygues Telecom, the Iliad Group, and Orange. Infrastructure assets, spectrum, and other resources would also be allocated among the three companies, with the exception of SFR’s mobile network in less densely populated areas, which Bouygues Telecom is expected to take over.

The financial breakdown of the acquisition reflects an approximate allocation of 42% to Bouygues Telecom, 31% to the Iliad Group, and 27% to Orange.

Before proceeding, the transaction will undergo consultation with employee representative bodies, followed by regulatory review from the relevant authorities, particularly in relation to competition and merger control requirements.

At this stage, discussions remain ongoing, and there is no assurance that the negotiations will lead to a final agreement.

About Bouygues Telecom

A subsidiary of the Bouygues group, Bouygues Telecom is a global French telecommunications and digital services operator. In 2025, the company achieved a turnover of 8.1 billion euros, employs 10,700 people, and has 501 stores in France. Founded in 1994, Bouygues Telecom is committed to providing its individual customers, businesses, and public administrations with secure, innovative, and high-quality Fixed and Mobile communication services, as well as very high-speed internet services, by constantly developing its network and user experience. 27.1 million Mobile customers and 5.4 million Fixed customers trust Bouygues Telecom, the number 1 operator for WiFi and mobile internet connections according to nPerf in 2025, and number 1 for Mobile in dense areas according to ARCEP, in 2025. Its 4G network now covers 99% of the population, and its 5G network covers more than 19,900 municipalities and over 86% of the population. Bouygues Telecom’s Enterprise division supports and helps grow a community of over 120,000 clients, including four out of five major CAC 40 accounts, by generalizing Very High Speed Broadband in France and facilitating the adoption of new uses such as unified communications, smart networks, and corporate mobility services, and by supporting the transformation of their digital infrastructures. Committed to reducing its carbon emissions, Bouygues Telecom aims to achieve -29.4% for scopes 1 and 2 and -17.5% for scope 3 by 2027, objectives approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). #OnEstFaitPourEtreEnsemble To follow Bouygues Telecom news: corporate.bouyguestelecom.fr, on X: @ByTel_Corporate

About the iliad Group

Created in the early 1990s, the iliad Group is the inventor of the world’s first triple-play box and is now a major European telecoms player, standing out for its innovative, straightforward and attractive offerings. The Group is the parent of Free in France, iliad in Italy and Play in Poland, has over 17,700 employees serving 52 million subscribers, and generated €10.3 billion in revenue in 2025. In France, the Group is an integrated Ultra-Fast Broadband Fiber and Mobile operator and had 23.3 million subscribers at end- 2025. In Italy, where it launched its business in 2018 under the iliad brand, it is the country’s fourth-largest Mobile operator and at end-2025 had

over 13.0 million subscribers. In Poland, the Group is an integrated convergent operator, and at end-2025 had 15.6 million subscribers. The iliad Group is in 2025 the Europe’s fifth-largest operator by number of retail Mobile subscribers (excluding M2M) and the fifth-largest Fixed Broadband operator. https://www.iliad.fr/en

About Orange

Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators. The Group aims to be the trusted partner for everyday digital life by providing individuals, businesses and communities with reliable connectivity and innovative services. As of the end of 2025, Orange connects 340 million customers (including MasOrange) across 26 countries and generated 40.4 billion euros in revenues.

As a trusted player, Orange leverages the excellence of its very high-speed broadband networks to deploy digital infrastructure in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The Group is a European leader in fiber, with 100 million connectable households, and convergent offers. In France, Orange connects 34 million customers and was ranked No. 1 by the regulator Arcep for the quality of its mobile network for the 15th consecutive year. In Africa and the Middle East, the Group’s growth engine, Orange serves nearly 180 million customers and promotes digital and financial inclusion through its connected solutions.

Under the Orange Business brand, the Group supports companies in transforming their networks as well as in AI, trusted cloud and cybersecurity. Orange is also a major player in the wholesale market, where it has a leading global telecom infrastructure and significant capabilities for deploying and operating submarine cables. A committed innovator, Orange relies on 700 researchers and holds a portfolio of 11,000 patents.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA). More information: www.orange.com.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names mentioned in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

About SFR

SFR is the second-largest telecom operator in France, serving over 25 million retail customers, businesses, local authorities and operators.

As the oldest brand in the French telecom market and with a network of over 40 million fiber connections, SFR was the first operator in France to launch 3G, then 4G and now 5G. Today, it covers 99.9% of the population with 4G and 86% with 5G. SFR is also present across the entire country through its network of stores.

In 2024, SFR achieved revenues of 10 billion euros. SFR is a subsidiary of Altice France.

To follow the group’s news on X: @AlticeFrance

Disclaimer:

Prior to its release, this information was classified by Bouygues SA as inside information within the meaning of applicable regulations (Article 7.1 of EU Regulation 596/2014 of 16 April 2014).

Person responsible for notification: Didier Casas, General Counsel.

Prior to its release, this information was classified by Orange SA as inside information within the meaning of applicable regulations (Article 7.1 of EU Regulation 596/2014 of 16 April 2014).

Person responsible for notification: Nicolas Guérin, Secretary General.

Media Contacts:

Bouygues Telecom:

Maylis Carçabal: mca@bouygues.com – +33 (0)6 63 59 87 05
Anthony Colombani: ANCOLOMB@bouyguestelecom.fr – +33 (0)7 62 46 26 65
Stéphanie Brun: sbrun@bouyguestelecom.fr – +33 (0)6 47 47 15 76

iliad Group:

Isabelle Audap, Free-iliad Group – presse@iliad.fr – +33 (0)6 33 47 09 57

Orange:

Eric Fohlen-Weill, Orange; eric.fohlen-weill@orange.com; +33 (0)6 81 07 81 02
Tom Wright, Orange; tom.wright@orange.com; +33 (0)6 78 91 35 11

SFR:

Nicolas Chatin, SFR – nicolas.chatin@sfr.com – +33 (0)6 62 47 81 64

SOURCE: Bouygues