A proposed €20.35 billion takeover and breakup of French telecom operator SFR is emerging as one of the most consequential tests of Europe’s changing approach to corporate consolidation, with regulators warning that approval is far from guaranteed.
Bouygues Telecom, Free and Orange signed a memorandum of understanding with Altice France on June 6 to acquire SFR and divide its operations among themselves. If approved, the transaction would reduce the number of France’s major mobile network operators from four to three and could reshape merger policy across the European telecommunications industry.
According to Le Monde, Benoît Cœuré, president of France’s Autorité de la Concurrence, cautioned that the proposed transaction raises serious competition concerns and cannot be viewed as a routine approval process. The review, which could take up to 18 months, is expected to involve both French and European authorities.
“It is not self-evident because this is a merger in an already highly concentrated market,” Cœuré told Le Monde. “But if we had already concluded that moving from four to three operators in the French market was necessarily anti-competitive, we would have said so, and we would not have allowed the operators to exhaust themselves trying to reach an agreement and spend millions of euros on legal and financial advisory fees.”
Per Le Monde, competition officials are expected to examine whether reducing the number of operators could lead to higher prices or weaker competition for consumers. Cœuré noted that authorities remain concerned not only about consumer costs but also about the possibility of increased coordination among the remaining market participants.
“It is of course natural to wonder about the impact on prices when the market goes from four to three operators,” he said, according to Le Monde. “Our concerns also relate to the risk of increased coordinated behavior among operators that could result from reduced competition.”
The antitrust chief pointed to France’s competition history, noting that some operators were previously sanctioned for anti-competitive conduct. According to Le Monde, he recalled that companies in the sector were fined €534 million in 2005 for exchanging strategic information and colluding to protect market share.
Regulators are also expected to scrutinize the transitional arrangements built into the proposed acquisition. Under the agreement, certain assets—including portions of SFR’s fixed and mobile networks, retail operations and IT systems—would remain jointly managed by the acquiring companies during a migration period of at least 30 months.
According to Le Monde, Cœuré warned that the temporary structure itself could create additional coordination risks. “Another coordination risk concerns the operation of the temporary entity that is set to hold SFR’s assets for several months, or even several years, while the operators ‘divide up’ their customers,” he said. “I am thinking in particular about the commercial policy that will be implemented.”
The transaction would rank among the largest telecom deals completed in Europe in recent years if it ultimately secures approval. Reuters reported that Bouygues would receive the largest portion of SFR’s carved-out business, accounting for approximately 52% of the revenue involved in the split, while Free would take around 27% and Orange about 21%.
Related: French Telecom Giants Face Lengthy Antitrust Scrutiny Over Planned SFR Takeover
The consortium has argued that consolidation is necessary to strengthen investment capacity, accelerate innovation and improve the resilience of France’s digital infrastructure. The companies have also pledged employment protections, stating that staff connected to the acquired operations would retain their positions or be offered alternative opportunities through early 2029.
Beyond France, the case is being watched closely across Europe because it coincides with a broader reassessment of merger policy in Brussels. According to Le Monde, Cœuré said that competition authorities are increasingly open to considering whether mergers can generate measurable efficiencies that ultimately benefit consumers. However, he emphasized that such benefits must be demonstrated with evidence rather than assumed.
Per Le Monde, Cœuré also argued that Europe’s larger challenge lies in the fragmentation of its telecommunications landscape. “The necessary condition for the emergence of European telecom champions is the integration of the European market, and only then should competition policy follow,” he said.
The outcome of the SFR review could therefore extend well beyond the French market. A decision to approve the deal may encourage similar transactions elsewhere in Europe, where telecom operators have long pushed for consolidation to improve profitability and support investment in next-generation networks. Conversely, a rejection could reinforce the traditional regulatory resistance to “four-to-three” mergers that has defined European telecom policy for years.
For now, French competition authorities say they have yet to begin their formal examination. According to Le Monde, Cœuré said, “We have not yet received anything, and as of now, we have no details about this project. The parties only reached an agreement on Saturday, June 6. Their pre-notification, when it happens, will allow us to begin our work.”
Source: Le Monde
