Bouygues-led consortium signs $23.44 billion deal to buy SFR from Altice France

(This June 7 story has been repeated with no changes to the text)

By Rhea Rose Abraham and Gianluca Lo Nostro

June 6 (Reuters) - Bouygues Telecom, Orange and Free-iliad Group said on Saturday they have signed a memorandum of understanding with Altice France to buy telecoms operator SFR for €20.35 billion ($23.44 billion), including debt.

If approved by regulators, the acquisition would rank among the biggest European telecoms deals in recent years.

A break-up of SFR would reduce the number of mobile network operators in France to three from four, setting up a key test of antitrust authorities' willingness to allow consolidation in Europe's crowded telecoms market.

Under the terms, Bouygues would acquire the largest share of SFR’s assets, accounting for about 52% of the carved-out revenue, with Free-iliad taking some 27% and Orange 21%. Some assets, including parts of the fixed and mobile networks and IT systems, would be held jointly for a transition period.

The Bouygues-led consortium said on Friday that, in view of the progress made in the negotiations, the parties had given themselves another 48 hours to finalise the agreements.

Last month, Altice France extended the exclusivity period for talks with the consortium until June 5 from a prior deadline of May 16, after the three operators raised their offer in April from around €17 billion.

Orange Chief Executive Christel Heydemann said in April that the company had begun regulatory discussions ahead of the deal and cited behavioural remedies as one possible route to approval.

"This agreement is set to reinforce Orange’s leadership position in France and in Europe and will support the ambitions of our 'Trust the future' plan," Heydemann said on Saturday.

The split of the price between buyers remains around 42% for Bouygues Telecom, 31% forFree-iliad and 27% for Orange. Break-up fees between €100 million and €2 billion have also been agreed upon.

"With this transaction, the Bouygues group confirms its commitment to placing its core businesses on a long-term growth path and to contributing to France’s digital sovereignty," said Bouygues Telecom Chairman Edward Bouygues.

The consortium said it will ensure employment for all the staff of the acquired assets until the beginning of 2029, either by allowing them to continue in their present positions or by providing them other job opportunities.

The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2027, after clearance from authorities has been obtained.

($1 = 0.8681 euros)

(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Writing by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Edmund Klamann and William Mallard)