PARIS--Bouygues SA (EN.FR) selling much of its mobile-network
infrastructure and radio spectrum Iliad SA (ILD.FR) could make for
a speedier and simpler antitrust review of Bouygues's bid to buy
rival SFR, the head of France' competition authority said in an
interview Monday.
"Undeniably, this new element, which was brought to me Saturday
morning without all the details, could maybe make for a faster and
certainly simpler review of (the) issue," Bruno Lasserre was quoted
as saying in an interview published in French daily Les Echos.
Bouygues, which last week jumped into a bidding war to buy
Vivendi SA's (VIV.FR) French telecons arm SFR, said Sunday that it
struck a side deal to sell much of its mobile-network
infrastructure and radio spectrum to Iliad--but only if its bid for
SFR goes through.
The gambit is part of a broader campaign aimed at persuading
Vivendi and public officials to favor Bouygues's offer for SFR over
that of cable-investment firm Altice SA (ATC.AE).
Mr. Lasserre said the antitrust authority will review any
concrete plans with "absolute neutrality" once concrete plans are
presented to it.
Mr Lasserre--who has just sealed a new five-year term as
president of the authority--said there is no "magic number" for an
ideal French mobile market, when asked what his view was on
operators' attempts to consolidate the French market. A deal
between Bouygues and SFR would reduce the number of mobile
operators in France to three from four, while a deal between SFR
and Altice would combine cable-firm Numericable Group SA (NUM.FR)
with a mobile firm.
Newspaper website: http://www.lesechos.fr
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