France: Iliad misses the mark to buy Bouygues by $4B

Sources told reporters Monday that France wireless operator Iliad hit a roadblock in its efforts to acquire rival Bouygues due to a discrepancy between the firms over what the price of the deal should be.

According to reports, third-place Iliad offered an informal bid between $5.4 billion and $6.7 billion for the company; Bouygues, however, said it is looking for an offer closer to $9.5 billion.

Reports say experts expect any such tie-up to face significant antitrust hurdles but that a deal with Bouygues and Iliad would be easier to pass with regulators than a tie-up between Bouygues and industry leader Orange.

Earlier reports said Bouygues and Orange could be in merger discussions.

Any merger would be only the latest in a round of telecommunications shakeups in France. Bouygues lost a bidding war against cable operator Numericable earlier this year for the acquisition of Vivendi-owned telecom company SFR.

Full content: RTT News

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