The discussions come months after Altice rejected a joint nonbinding offer from the three companies in October to buy a large portion of its business for €17 billion euros.

The telecom giant’s revealed due diligence began earlier this month and negotiations are continuing. 

However, they cautioned that there is no certainty the talks will result in a deal.

But, if the deal does go ahead , it would be a major shake-up for France’s telecommunications industry, with a raft of implications, including: 

Industry consolidation

An acquisition of the majority of Altice France’s telecom assets would significantly reduce the number of major players in the market. 

France currently has four large mobile network operators and absorbing Altice’s business would accelerate consolidation in an industry which has long suffered from intense price competition.

“The proposed deal would reduce the number of competing players in the French mobile market from four to three and therefore likely invoke strong scrutiny,” Kester Mann, director of consumer and connectivity at CCS Insight told Capacity in October, when the deal was first announced.

Regulatory scrutiny

Such a deal would almost certainly face close examination from French and EU competition authorities, who would likely demand asset disposals, network-sharing arrangements or other measures to limit excessive market concentration.

Operational cost savings

The telecom giant’s could benefit from synergies by combining networks, retail operations and back-office functions, which could also result in cost reductions and more efficient investment infrastructure, such as 5G, fibre and AI.

Impact on employment

Currently, Orange employs around 68,000 staff in France, Bouygues Telecom has roughly 11,000 employees and Iliad employs more than 18,000 people across its operations, while consolidation could support stronger long-term investment capacity, it may also result in job cuts as overlapping roles, an issue likely to attract political and union attention in the country.

Shift in the market

A restructured market could change the balance of power among operators, potentially creating one or two dominant players with greater influence over wholesale pricing.

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