Vivendi accepted an offer by Altice/Numericable to acquire SFR for approximately €13.5 billion, with a potential earn-out of €750 million and a possibility to sell its remaining 20% stake at a later stage. This should represent a total value in excess of €17 billion.
Numericable currently has over 5.2 million fiber homes in France, with more than 10 million homes passed. SFR has 3G/4G mobile networks in France as well as 1.6 million fiber homes.
Patrick Drahi, founder and Chairman of the Altice group, parent company to Numericable, said: “By bringing together SFR and Numericable we will create the French champion in very high speed broadband and in the convergence of fixed and mobile networks. This is a trend throughout the sector, borne out across Europe and around the world. Our project, which is founded upon perfectly complementary networks and skillsets, will generate strong growth, which in turn will create jobs and stimulate investment.”
