French mobile operators extend talks on SFR takeover

Paris: French telecoms group Altice said Friday that talks with three rivals on selling them its SFR mobile operator would be extended until June 5, adding there was “no certainty” they would reach a deal.

The exclusive discussions were announced in mid-April after Bouygues Telecom, Orange and Free submitted a new offer for SFR, France’s second-largest mobile operator, valuing it at 20.4 billion euros ($23.8 billion).

They had already tried buying SFR months earlier with a bid of around 17 billion euros, which Altice rejected.