Altice Offers to Buy Bouygues Telecom for $11.3 Billion

Altice, the cable and mobile services provider based in Luxembourg, has offered to pay 10 billion euros, or about $11.3 billion, in cash for its rival Bouygues Telecom. The deal, if finalized, would combine two of France’s largest mobile providers -- Numericable-SFR and Bouygues Telecom -- and oust Orange as France’s largest cellphone company.

The transaction also would change the telecommunications landscape in France, reducing the main mobile providers from four to three. Any potential deal could face opposition in France. Emmanuel Macron, France’s economy minister, told reporters that the time was not right for consolidation in the country’s telecom sector and that the industry should focus on investment.