Music pours from the pubs and flows through the streets of Galway. Investors announced earlier included Caisse des Depots et Consignations, JC Decaux Holding and the Pinault family.Galway's long musical heritage makes it a perfect place to catch a show © Atlantide Phototravel / Getty Images A musical tradition Vivendi is evaluating cash proceeds as well as criteria including regulatory risks, implications for SFR’s about 9,000 jobs, and the liquidity of the stake in the enlarged SFR it will retain, people familiar with the matter have said.īouygues said today other investors backing its offer include Singapore’s sovereign-wealth fund GIC Pte, Axa SA, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, the Dassault family and Reuben Brothers Ltd. Bouygues had reached a preliminary deal to let Iliad, founded by entrepreneur billionaire Xavier Niel, take on some assets should Bouygues’s bid succeed.
Still, French prices have fallen by more than 30 percent since Iliad SA (ILD) became the fourth carrier in 2012.Īn SFR-Bouygues Telecom merger is more likely to attract antitrust scrutiny than SFR-Numericable combination because it would reduce the number of mobile network operators in France from four to three. The European parliament yesterday voted in favor of plans to eliminate mobile roaming fees within the European Union. The fight for SFR, whose previous owners included Vodafone Group Plc, represents a milestone in European carriers’ push to merge in response to stricter regulations and increased competition. An acquisition could also provide one of the biggest financing deals to loan bankers in Europe this year. Comcast Corp.’s bid for Time Warner Cable Inc. by value, making it the second-biggest acquisition globally announced this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. If a sale of SFR is completed, it could surpass Actavis Inc.’s agreement to buy Forest Laboratories Inc. Vivendi also owns Universal Music Group, pay-TV company Canal+ and Brazilian broadband provider GVT. The separation of SFR started last year as a spinoff plan, part of Chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou’s promise to split Vivendi into two companies focused on telecommunications and media, respectively. His most recent proposal values the combined entity at 20 billion euros including debt, according to Altice. Vivendi could choose to reach a final agreement with Altice today, extend the exclusivity period with Drahi’s company, decide to proceed with talks with Bouygues or reopen the bidding process, people familiar with the matter have said, asking not to be named because the deliberations are private.ĭrahi, the 50-year-old Altice chairman who made his fortune amassing cable assets, has tried for years to take over SFR. Representatives for Paris-based Vivendi and Luxembourg-based Altice didn’t immediately return phone calls seeking comment. in Paris and Bouygues slid 0.8 percent, while Vivendi added 0.1 percent. Numericable fell 2.4 percent to 27.24 euros at 1:31 p.m.
The extra cash has definitely changed the dynamics.”īouygues said its latest offer, excluding potential cost savings and additional revenue, is valued at 16 billion euros, which could rise to as much as 16.5 billion euros including a so-called “earn-out clause.” “This morning it seemed very much a done deal,” said Ian Whittaker, an analyst at Liberum Capital Ltd. Altice and Vivendi have been in exclusive talks for three weeks. With the backing of a French state-controlled fund, Bouygues is putting pressure on Vivendi’s supervisory board, which is meeting today to decide whether to seal an agreement with Altice, its preferred bidder for the country’s second-largest phone company. Altice, proposing to combine its Numericable Group with SFR, offered Vivendi a 32 percent stake in an enlarged entity. Vivendi would receive 10 percent of a company created from a merger of SFR with Bouygues Telecom, Paris-based Bouygues said. The construction and media company led by Martin Bouygues put up an extra 1.85 billion euros, topping a cash bid from cable tycoon Patrick Drahi’s Altice by 3.25 billion euros. Bouygues SA (EN), locked in a monthlong bidding war with Altice SA (ATC) to acquire Vivendi SA (VIV)’s French telecommunications unit SFR, sweetened its offer again to bring the cash component to 15 billion euros ($20.6 billion).
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