Altice open to acquiring Bouygues Telecom

Bouygues Telecom

Altice could be open to acquiring French service provider Bouygues Telecom, according to the Patrick Drahi investment vehicle’s CEO, Dexter Goei, cited by Dow Jones Newswires.

Goei, speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference in Barcelona, said that there was a great potential to realise synergies between the two companies.

Goei said Altice would not need to implement a capital increase to acquire Bouygues Telecom, despite the heavy debts incurred in acquiring SFR.

Altice has also recently tabled a bid for Portugal Telecom’s domestic assets.

Bouygues was recently involved in a bitter contest with Altice and cable operator Numericable, of which it is majority owner, for Vivendi-owned SFR, with Numericable emerging triumphant.

Bouygues has maintained that Bouygues Telecom will continue to operate as a standalone unit and will become profitable and competitive as part of a big four-dominated French telecom sector.

Bouygues Telecom is ranked number three amongst French mobile players but has limited penetration in the fixed line market.