In the event of a sale of SFR, the State will be attentive to "consumer protection", assures Marc Ferracci
The operator is the subject of numerous takeover rumors, while its heavily indebted parent company Altice France has been in the process of restructuring its debt since February.
This is a warning to the main players in the market. The State will be attentive to "consumer protection" in the event of a sale of the operator SFR , which could reconfigure the French telecoms market, indicated the Minister of Industry Marc Ferracci on BFM Business, in an exchange recorded Friday and broadcast Monday. "There are multiple options that are linked to the capital developments of SFR, and the State here is looking at them with the concern of protecting the consumer (...) and the concern of finding a balance between consumer protection and the investment capacities of the operators," affirmed Mr. Ferracci.
SFR is the subject of numerous takeover rumors, while its heavily indebted parent company Altice France has been in the process of restructuring its debt since February following an agreement with its creditors. The sale of SFR, valued at €30 billion according to market rumors, could lead to an unprecedented reconfiguration of the French telecoms market since the arrival of operator Free in 2012.
Skip the adThe sector could indeed once again have three operators. Such a development could limit competition between the different operators. Orange, the incumbent operator in which the French government is the largest shareholder, has already indicated through its CEO Christel Heydemann that it would "not be involved" in the event of a sale of SFR, for reasons of competition rules. In May, Ms. Heydemann and Orange's Chairman of the Board, Jacques Aschenbroich, both advocated for a possible "consolidation" of the operator market.
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