Buyout of the French mobile operator, SFR, by the French cable operator Numericable

Happy ending to a deal which will go down in the history of the French telecoms sector – Bird & Bird and Franklin advised Numericable throughout the deal.

After an in-depth analysis (phase II), the French Competition Authority cleared SFR’s takeover by Numericable Group (Altice’s subsidiary) on October 27, 2014.

The transaction amounted to EUR 17 billion, including EUR 13.5 billion in cash and Vivendi’s 20 % stake in the new entity.

The rationale behind this operation is the complementarity of the parties’ fixed and mobile networks. The merger falls within the context of a mature mobile telephony market and the development of convergent telecoms services. This transaction will create a very efficient operator in high speed broadband and fixed-mobile convergence.

The merged entity will become a major player in the telecoms sector.

The French Competition Authority cleared the operation subject to the compliance with several commitments.

Regarding Competition law issues, Numericable Group and Altice were assisted by Franklin with Jérôme Michel, partner, and Bird & Bird with Julie Catala Marty, partner, Christophe Nusbaumer, David Guitton and Sarah Kosminsky, associates.