Iliad-Bouygues Deal Could Speed Up Antitrust Review -Report

PARIS--Bouygues SA (EN.FR) selling much of its mobile-network infrastructure and radio spectrum Iliad SA (ILD.FR) could make for a speedier and simpler antitrust review of Bouygues's bid to buy rival SFR, the head of France' competition authority said in an interview Monday.

"Undeniably, this new element, which was brought to me Saturday morning without all the details, could maybe make for a faster and certainly simpler review of (the) issue," Bruno Lasserre was quoted as saying in an interview published in French daily Les Echos.

Bouygues, which last week jumped into a bidding war to buy Vivendi SA's (VIV.FR) French telecons arm SFR, said Sunday that it struck a side deal to sell much of its mobile-network infrastructure and radio spectrum to Iliad--but only if its bid for SFR goes through.

The gambit is part of a broader campaign aimed at persuading Vivendi and public officials to favor Bouygues's offer for SFR over that of cable-investment firm Altice SA (ATC.AE).

Mr. Lasserre said the antitrust authority will review any concrete plans with "absolute neutrality" once concrete plans are presented to it.

Mr Lasserre--who has just sealed a new five-year term as president of the authority--said there is no "magic number" for an ideal French mobile market, when asked what his view was on operators' attempts to consolidate the French market. A deal between Bouygues and SFR would reduce the number of mobile operators in France to three from four, while a deal between SFR and Altice would combine cable-firm Numericable Group SA (NUM.FR) with a mobile firm.

Newspaper website: http://www.lesechos.fr

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