'It nearly blew up': inside the SFR takeover, the 'deal of the century' for French telecoms
Source · Telecoms desk
— Summary
On Thursday 16 April in the evening, Altice France accepted an offer from a consortium grouping Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad to buy SFR for €20.35bn. The deal — signed on DocuSign, no champagne — ends fourteen years of French telecoms warfare since Free entered mobile in 2012 and twelve years after Patrick Drahi acquired SFR. The market drops from four to three operators. Drahi followed negotiations from Tel-Aviv, "blocked by the war in the Middle East": he gave the green light at 4 pm, the press release was finalised by 8 pm.
Talks nearly collapsed twice. A first offer of €17bn landed on 14 October and was rejected by Drahi. After two months of frozen ground, both sides gave way, and due diligence started in early January with 400 to 500 people mobilised in the first weeks of 2026. A revised offer came in early April, then an improved version on Friday 10 April. By Tuesday evening everyone was ready to sign. By Wednesday morning "the mood had suddenly cooled" and "the ghost of 2016 had resurfaced" — a reference to the failure of the "Jardiland" operation that, ten years earlier, had seen Orange try and fail to buy Bouygues Telecom. Buyers were at €17bn, Drahi wanted €23bn; the deal was struck at just over €20bn.
Each side worked under a code name: "Rainbow" at Altice, "Mont-Blanc" at Bouygues, "Mosaïque" at Iliad, "Voltaire" at Orange. On the Orange side, Christel Heydemann — an École polytechnique graduate like Drahi — played a key role, advised by Laurence Hainault (Evercore). At Iliad, CEO Thomas Reynaud and new CFO Thomas Kienzi were backed by Perella Weinberg (Gilles Tré-Hardy) and Bredin Prat (Florence Haas). Lawyers now have until 15 May to produce the legal documentation; Drahi will then need to wind down his other European telecoms assets and deleverage in the United States. Source: Les Echos, 19 April 2026, Thomas Pontiroli, Romain Gueugneau, Mehdi Laghrari and David Barroux.
The story in one line. Altice France agreed on Thursday 16 April to sell SFR to an Orange–Bouygues Telecom–Iliad consortium for €20.35bn, cutting the French telecoms market from four operators to three after fourteen years of open warfare.
Key numbers
Final price: €20.35bn (buyers opened at €17bn, Drahi demanded €23bn).
Timeline: initial offer rejected 14 October, due diligence early January 2026, improved offer Friday 10 April, Drahi’s green light Thursday 16 April at 4 pm, press release at 8 pm.
Due diligence: between 400 and 500 people mobilised in the first weeks of 2026.
Previous failure: the “Jardiland” deal (Orange ↔ Bouygues Telecom) collapsed ten years earlier, after Easter 2016.
Legal deadline: signed documents expected by 15 May 2026.
Drahi background: bought SFR in 2014, bid €11bn for Bouygues Telecom a year later.
Why it matters
Moving from four operators to three transforms French telecoms economics. With one fewer player, retail pricing pressure eases and returns on capital recover, finally justifying investment in fibre and 5G. This is what every European telecoms market has been trying to achieve for a decade, and what France’s Ministry of the Economy blocked in 2016 under Arnaud Montebourg and Emmanuel Macron (then economy minister). This time, Les Echos notes, “the government is taking a back seat, probably not displeased to see Orange’s share price rally as consolidation progresses”.
The hard negotiation was not Drahi versus the buyers but aligning three fierce competitors. Each side had its bankers (Evercore for Orange, Perella Weinberg for Iliad, Rothschild for Bouygues), its lawyers (Bredin Prat for Iliad) and its principal: Roussat (Bouygues) reported to Edward and Martin Bouygues, Reynaud reported “almost daily” to Xavier Niel. Heydemann — the rare woman in the room and, like Drahi, an École polytechnique graduate — served as a neutral contact point on the Orange side.
Takeaway
The SFR deal restarts the European telecoms consolidation cycle and validates the sector’s conviction that four-player competition destroys capital. Still ahead: the legal phase (15 May), the competition review, and the fate of Drahi’s other European telecoms assets. Watch: Orange and Bouygues share prices (already rallying), Iliad credit spreads, and the Autorité de la concurrence’s response.
Source: Les Echos, 19 April 2026, Thomas Pontiroli, Romain Gueugneau, Mehdi Laghrari and David Barroux.