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

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.