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France: Orange, Bouygues confirms meger talks

 |  January 5, 2016

Orange SA is in talks to acquire Bouygues SA’s telecommunications unit in a $10.8 billion transaction that would boost profits in the French mobile-phone market by reducing competition.

There’s no calendar or “predefined outcome” to the talks, Orange said Tuesday, confirming a report last month by Bloomberg News that the companies were in early discussions.

The companies are evaluating selling some assets to rivals Numericable-SFR SAS and Iliad SA to help pass regulatory hurdles for a deal that would cut the number of wireless providers in France from four to three, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named discussing private deliberations.

Full content: The New York Times

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