France

Iliad’s Niel acquires Orange Switzerland

Apax Partners has agreed to sell Orange Switzerland to French telecoms tycoon Xavier Niel-owned investment firm NJJ Capital for 2.3 billion. Apax bought the operator from France Telecom Orange in 2012 for €1.6 billion, but claims to have transformed the business since by upgrading its network to 4G and modernising its backend IT systems.

EC expands scrutiny of Orange’s Jazztel bid

The European Commission (EC) has decided to expand on its assessment of the proposed acquisition bid by Orange for Jazztel. The EC announced the in-depth investigation is to determine whether the proposed acquisition is in line with EU merger regulation.

Altice open to acquiring Bouygues Telecom – report

The CEO of Altice, Dexter Goei has indicated the French cable group could acquire Bouygues Telecom. According to a report, Goei said the firm, owned by billionare Patrick Darhi, would make a perfect candidate to buy the Telecom arm of Bouygues Group, a fellow French firm.

Orange focuses on IoT in product showcase

Orange has announced a host of new products and services at its third annual hello show in Paris. The company seemed determined to address almost every aspect of modern life as it showcased some 20-odd products and product enhancements for “connected home, connected business and on-the-go.”

Netflix begins European push

As of Monday, video steaming service Netflix is available in France as the company seeks to expand its presence in Europe beyond the UK and Ireland. Later this month the service will also launch in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

French regulator consults on open spectrum for IoT

ARCEP, the French telecommunications regulator, has launched a public consultation into the use of open, unlicensed spectrum for a variety of unspecified short-range wireless communications that it anticipates will contribute to the IoT (Internet of Things) phenomenon.

Bouygues Telecom launches low-cost FTTH

French service provider Bouygues Telecom, which lost out to cable operator Numericable in its attempt to secure the acquisition of Vivendi’s SFR and lead consolidation in the country’s mobile sector, has launched an assault on the high-speed fixed internet market in the country.

Bouygues announces France’s first commercial LTE-A service

France’s third largest mobile operator – Bouygues Telecom – has brushed of its recent setbacks in the M&A market and the subsequent need to cut costs by announcing it is the first French operator to launch commercial LTE-Advanced service, which it has rebranded as 4G+.

Bouygues to cut 1,516 jobs as French M&A talks collapse

French multi-play operator Bouygues has announced plans to cut more than 1,500 jobs, after CEO Olivier Roussat told a press briefing that consolidation-focused discussions being held with incumbent Orange and fast-growing newcomer Iliad had stalled.

Consolidation close in France and Italy, say reports

The French and Italian mobile markets could both be on the verge of significant consolidation, according to reports from news agency Reuters. In France incumbent telco Orange has set two investment banks to investigate the potential takeover of rival Bouygues, while talks have resumed between Hutchison and Vimpelcom, which own 3 Italia and Wind respectively, about a potential merger. In both instances Reuteurs cited unnamed sources close to the situation.

Bouygues jumps on VoLTE bandwagon

In the latest of a rash of VoLTE announcements, French carrier Bouygues Telecom said it would start carrying the first voice and video calls over LTE later this year with a view to commercial launch of the service in 2015.

Numericable in bid for Virgin Mobile as French consolidation gathers pace

Carphone Warehouse, which earlier this week announced plans to merge with UK high street consumer electronics retailer Dixons, has announced that it is in discussions to sell Omer Telecom, the holding company which owns Virgin Mobile France, to French cable player Numericable. In April this year Numericable’s parent Altice struck a deal to acquire French mobile operator SFR, which it intends to merge with Numericable.

Vodafone extends brand partnership with SFR

UK operator group Vodafone has extended its partnership with France’s SFR for a further four years. Vodafone will continue to use the French operator’s network to provide multinational enterprises with fixed and mobile services in France.

Orange launches Alliance partnership programme

French incumbent Orange has launched a partnership programme through which it intends to offer scale benefits and wholesale services to smaller operators. The first operators to sign up to the Orange Alliance programme are French-Polynesian firm Vini and third-placed Portuguese player Zon Optimus.

Vivendi accepts Altice’s offer for SFR

French conglomerate Vivendi has accepted investment vehicle Altice’s offer for its mobile operator subsidiary SFR. Under the terms of the offer SFR will merge with Altice subsidiary and cable operator Numericable and Vivendi will receive €13.5bn for SFR as well as a 20 per cent stake in the new merged entity. The firm estimates the total value of the offer at around €17bn.

Orange Business Services forms cloud alliance with Accenture

Operator group Orange’s enterprise-focused unit has teamed up with management consultancy and technology services provider Accenture to help large enterprises devise their cloud strategies. The two firms will also set out to support enterprises moving their infrastructure and applications to the cloud.

Bouygues extends SFR purchase offer

French operator Bouygues Telecom has extended its offer to acquire rival SFR by 17 days in a bid to prevent the company being sold to cable operator Altice.

Bouygues ups offer for SFR again

French operator Bouygues Telecom is not admitting defeat in its pursuit to acquire rival SFR, having again increased the cash part of its offer to parent group Vivendi. The offer now stands at €13.15bn.

Orange investigating staff suicides

French operator group Orange has reacted to concerns voiced by a union-led independent monitoring group that nine of its employees committed suicide from January 15th 2014 to February 25th 2014. The Observatoire du Stress et des Mobilités Forcées suggested this was as many suicides as the operator’s staff committed during the whole of 2013 and claimed that at least seven of the suicides were work-related.

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