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France: Winner emerges in sfr bidding saga

By  |  April 7, 2014

After reports traced the back-and-forth predictions of which company would win the bidding for French wireless operator SFR, owned by Vivendi, reports say a winner has emerged.

Altice’s Numericable is set to acquire the assets, beating out multiple bid-hikes by rival bidder Bouygues. Reports say the winning bid is valued at more than $23 billion.

Despite Bouygues’s competitive offers, reports had speculated that Numericable had a better chance of victory as, unlike Bouygues, it operates in the cable industry and not the wireless industry, suggesting the deal would be less susceptible to antitrust scrutiny.

Numericable will now be in a position to compete with market leader Orange, as well as Bouygues. The company will reportedly offer bundled Internet, cable, wireless and landline telco services.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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