Altice Extends SFR Sale Talks With Bouygues, Iliad and Orange Until June 5

French telecoms group Altice said on Friday, May 15, 2026 that talks with three rivals on selling SFR would be extended until June 5. The company added there was no certainty a deal would be reached. 4 billion.

They had already tried buying SFR months earlier with a bid of around €17 billion which Altice rejected. "The parties are pursuing their constructive discussions," Altice said in a joint statement with the three bidders. " Under the project announced in April, Bouygues would acquire 42% of SFR's operations, Iliad 31% and Orange 27% as they break up the company along business lines.

Tough competition among the four major French operators has weighed on SFR's sales and subscriber numbers in recent years. Altice did not provide further details to explain the extension of talks. " "It's a complex operation, very long, and we need to go into significant detail in talks where, as usual with such deals, each party is going to defend their position," Stoll said at the group's quarterly results presentation.

Any deal would draw scrutiny from regulators. President Emmanuel Macron warned during the first sale attempt that the government would be "extremely vigilant" about the impact on prices for consumers. Le Monde reported that the logos of French telecom operators Bouygues and SFR are seen on shops in Paris, France.

The extension comes after the mid-April offer followed the earlier rejected bid of around €17 billion.