French Minister Urges Altice Chairman to Consider Relocating to France - Report

PARIS--Fleur Pellerin, the French minister-delegate for the digital economy, said it would be "logical" for Altice SA (ATC.AE) Executive Chairman Patrick Drahi to relocate to France if the group takes over cellphone operator SFR, according to an interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche published Sunday.

Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) said Friday it had entered into exclusive talks with Altice, the parent of French cable operator Numericable Group SA, to sell the bulk of its cellphone arm SFR, taking the safer route to its long-sought exit from a French telecommunications market beset by a tough price war.

Altice has been bidding against French conglomerate Bouygues SA (EN.FR), which had won backers in the government, including Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg.

"I am not a tax inspector. But if Patrick Drahi becomes the second largest telecom operator in France, it would be logical for him to relocate his fiscal residence to France and for him to handle his business from Paris. It's a sensitive sector. Buying SFR will give him responsibilities, which he is well aware of," Ms. Pellerin said in the interview.

Mr. Drahi, Altice's controlling shareholder, is currently a Swiss resident with French and Israeli nationalities. Altice is based in Luxembourg and listed in Amsterdam.

Newspaper website: www.lejdd.fr

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