(Telecompaper) Vivendi's board has unanimously chosen to sell French mobile and broadband operator SFR to cable company Numericable, rather than to Bouygues Telecom, for EUR 13.5 billion of cash and a 20 percent stake in the combined Numericable-SFR. Vivendi will receive another EUR 750 million if the new company meets profitability targets. The deal means that France will continue to have four MNOs, Orange, SFR, Bouygues and Free Mobile. By joining Numericable, SFR adds a large installed base of fixed line customers to its traditional mobile business. The board cited the synergies to be gained from combining the two networks, customer benefits based on fixed-mobile convergence, a lower risk of competition issues, and the best overall value from the sale, over EUR 17 billion in cash and shares.