French media and telecoms company Vivendi has agreed to sell its SFR business. Vodafone was a partner in SFR until 2011, when it sold its part of the company to Vivendi.
The deal will see cable provider Altice and its Numericable subsidiary paying €13.5 billion (£11.2 billion) in cash and giving Vivendi a 20% stake in the resulting company. A rival offer from Bouygues of €15.5 billion and a 5% share in the new business was rejected.
Patrick Drahi, founder and chairman of the Altice group, said “Our industrial project is ambitious and growth-oriented. 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. The future begins today.”