France's Vivendi could be about to receive an unexpected windfall as three companies vie for a chance to buy its SFR mobile network subsidiary.
Vivendi currently plans to split off the company into a new stand-alone firm, but could now accept a trade offer from either Numericable, Iliad or Bouygues.
Numericable, which is owned by Altice is already confirmed to be in talks with SFR about a purchase, but the other two mobile networks are also said to be eying a possible deal.
While Iliad could probably get regulatory approval for a purchase, Bouygues would almost certainly face a much tougher time, and would have to make significant concessions to get the deal approved.
Numericable meanwhile is said to be inching closer to an all-cash offer of around EUR11 billion (US$15.2 billion) for SFR, which would then be merged with its smaller cable network. The company is currently fund raising for the deal, which has not been formally made to the Vivendi board.
A deal with Numericable would keep the status quo in the fiercely competitive mobile market, although the heavy debt that Numericable would take on could limit its options to deepen the price war.
If Iliad or Bouygues make a purchase, then competition would shrink, and the market could see some stabilisation in revenues going forward.
The unnamed stalking horse could be Vodafone, which used to own a 45% stake in SFR, and still sees France as a significant missing piece in its European portfolio.
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