The logo of French telecom operator SFR is seen on a shop in Paris, France, October 15, 2025. SARAH MEYSSONNIER / REUTERS
French telecoms group Altice announced Friday, April 17 that it had resumed talks to sell its SFR mobile operator to three rivals – Bouygues Telecom, Free and Orange – just months after rejecting a previous offer.
The firms have made a new offer to acquire and break up SFR that values France's second-largest mobile operator at €20.35 billion ($24 billion), after Altice rebuffed their €17 billion bid last October.
Tough competition has weighed on SFR's sales and subscriber numbers in recent years. If accepted by Altice, which had to restructure a massive €24 billion debt load last year, it could remake the French telecoms landscape by reducing the number of main mobile operators to just three from four.
The prospect has drawn scrutiny from competition regulators, with President Emmanuel Macron warning during the first sale attempt that the government would be "extremely vigilant" about the impact on prices for consumers.
