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France: Failed Bouygues deals force government to act

By  |  June 12, 2014

After two Bouygues mergers failed, reports say the French government is now scrambling to promote telco mergers and protect jobs.

According to reports, Bouygues announced plans Wednesday to cut 17 percent of its workforce after two separate deals failed to pan into a merger deal. Bouygues, the nation’s third-place wireless operator, had been in talks with top rival Orange as well as Iliad.

France Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg is now encouraging the carriers to strike a deal before job cuts happen.

”It’s about time these carriers agreed,” Montebourg said at a press conference. “The state isn’t the decision maker in this matter, but we’ll use all means at hand to consolidate to three carriers in France.

The nation’s wireless industry has been in flux in recent months following Bouygues’s failed bidding war against Numericable to acquire Vivendi-owned SFR last April.

Full content: Bloomberg

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