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Bouygues rejects Altice takeover offer for telecoms arm
2015-06-23 21:59:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Bouygues Group has rejected an unsolicited bid from Altice to buy its operator Bouygues Telecom. The French construction and media group said it was confident in Bouygues Telecom's ability to continue independently, given the growth opportunities on the market for digital services, its strong spectrum holdings and 4G network, success with its recently launched Android TV box and ongoing cost reduction efforts. After a board meeting to discuss the bid, Bouygues said its board felt the telecom activities could return to an EBITDA margin of at least 25 percent by 2017, the same level as in 2011, prior to the launch of the fourth mobile network operator in France. Bouygues said it was also concerned about the "execution risk" of Altice's offer, given the likely close regulatory scrutiny of the deal. The acquisition by Altice would see Bouygues Telecom merged with SFR-Numericable, reducing the country to three mobile networks and eliminating a major player on the fixed broadband market. Bouygues said it was not satisfied with Altice's response on how it would handle the regulatory questions, nor there was any certainty on the deal would affect the 700 MHz band auction planned in France late this year. Finally, Bouyues said it was concerned about the "social risks" of the acquisition, which would likely lead to numerous job losses.
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Category:Telecommunications
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