French mobile network operators SFR and Bouygues Telecom have decided the time is right to monetise their 50:50 tower joint venture, Infracos, according to a report in Le Monde.

Created in 2014 to host the passive assets that underpin the pair’s shared-network grid in sparsely populated parts of France, Infracos controls c. 3,500 rooftop and ground-based structures—primarily pylons, water-towers and other high points that secure coverage along secondary roads and in rural communities.

Le Monde’s sources suggest a price tag of €800mn to €1bn, or roughly €300,000 per site, is being discussed. That multiple sits comfortably alongside historic French benchmarks , albeit at a discount to the urban-heavy portfolios that changed hands earlier. TowerXchange is not aware if a formal sale process has yet launched, but infrastructure investors—both specialist towercos already active in France and core-plus funds looking for long-duration yield—are expected to show an interest in the the asset.

For SFR-parent Altice France, which is carrying €15.5 bn of net debt even after a €8.6 bn restructuring agreed in February, the proceeds would bolster a wider deleveraging plan that has already seen disposals of data-centre, fibre and international equity stakes. Bouygues Telecom, meanwhile, has flagged that towers are no longer considered “strategic” as it pivots resources towards fibre wholesale and its own 5G roll-out.

Industry observers note that demand for rural French towers has proved resilient: Phoenix Tower International picked up almost 2,000 SFR and Bouygues sites in 2023, while TOTEM and Cellnex both continue to chase bolt-ons that complement existing footprints. Any buyer of Infracos will inherit a portfolio with low churn risk, modest co-location upside and predictable CPI-linked escalators—attributes that continue to resonate with European infra investors despite the higher-rate environment.

TowerXchange will monitor progress closely and report when a process formally kicks off or bidders emerge.