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French Telecom Giants Face Lengthy Antitrust Scrutiny Over Planned SFR Takeover

By  |  June 8, 2026
telecom AI

French telecommunications groups Bouygues, Orange and Iliad-owned Free are preparing for a complex antitrust review of their planned $23.5 billion acquisition of SFR, a process that executives said on Monday could become a major test of regulators’ stance on consolidation in the European telecom sector.

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    The three companies announced on Saturday that they had agreed to acquire SFR for €20.35 billion ($23.45 billion), including debt, in what would rank among the largest telecom transactions in Europe in recent years, according to Reuters.

    Under the proposed agreement, SFR’s assets would be divided among the buyers. Bouygues would receive the largest share, representing approximately 52% of the revenue generated by the carved-out business. Iliad would take about 27%, while Orange would receive the remaining 21%, according to Reuters.

    Despite the scale of the deal, the companies must now navigate a complicated regulatory approval process that is expected to begin within days and could extend for more than a year, per Reuters. Competition authorities will closely examine the transaction because of its potential impact on competition in France’s telecommunications market.

    Related: Italian Antitrust Authorities Open Probe Into Telecom Network-Sharing Deal

    Each of the bidders is required to notify the relevant competition authorities in its jurisdiction. Orange and Bouygues will submit filings in France because they generate more than two-thirds of their European Union turnover there. According to Reuters, this exempts both companies from mandatory notification to the European Commission under EU merger regulations.

    Iliad, however, does not meet the same threshold and will instead file its notification with the European Commission in Brussels, according to Reuters. Following those submissions, French and EU regulators are expected to determine which authority will take the lead role in assessing the merger.

    Source: Reuters