La Poste Mobile, for sale, chooses Bouygues Telecom for its takeover! Price of the operation, mobile network: operators explain

Orange and Free failed, La Poste Mobile announced on Thursday evening that it had entered into exclusive negotiations with Bouygues Telecom. It is the latter who, barring disaster, should redeem him. Clubic provides you with the details of the operation.

This will be one of the notable operations of the year in the world of telecoms! La Poste, which had put the La Poste Mobile brand, the leading French virtual operator and fifth operator with 2.3 million customers, up for sale, has chosen its buyer. The group chose Bouygues Telecom and excluded from the race Orange and Iliad (parent company of Free), which were also candidates for its takeover. The operation will cost Bouygues Telecom nearly 1 billion euros, which nevertheless remains subject to the position of SFR. We’ll explain it to you.

Figures for the takeover of La Poste Mobile by Bouygues Telecom

Although we will obviously have to wait for authorizations from the Competition Authority and other competent institutions to validate this operation, Bouygues Telecom is well on its way to taking over La Poste Mobile, for 950 million euros. This amount corresponds to the value of La Poste Telecom shares. Its enterprise value is set at 963.4 million euros.

Bouygues Telecom, which has 23 million mobile customers in France, will significantly increase its subscriber base, with the 2.3 million consumers having chosen La Poste Mobile in recent years. “ Thanks to this agreement, Bouygues Telecom will be able to increase its customer base and strengthen its position in Mobile and Fixed Lines by relying on the Post Office distribution network throughout the country. », Explains Benoît Torloting, general manager of Bouygues Telecom.

More precisely, Bouygues Telecom would take, at this stage, a majority share of La Poste Mobile. La Poste holds 51% of the shares of its virtual operator, the remaining 49% belonging to SFR, which remains the big unknown in this operation. Bouygues Telecom has, in passing, obtained exclusive distribution of part of its offers in the postal network (at least 7,000 stores), in the same way as the La Poste Mobile offers.

SFR, which owns 49% of La Poste Mobile, retains a key role

SFR not only owns 49% of La Poste Mobile, but its status allows it to have a right of veto and a right of pre-emption. Except that the Altice group, owner of SFR, is looking for liquidity to cover its colossal debt of 60 billion euros. We therefore imagine that he should not oppose the operation, and also negotiate the buyout of his own share.

Another important issue: the mobile network. Today, if you are a La Poste Mobile customer, you use that of SFR. The operator in the red square and La Poste Mobile are under exclusivity until the end of 2026. In theory therefore, La Poste Mobile customers will switch to a Bouygues Telecom network from the start of 2027. migration whose contours remain to be defined.

La Poste insisted on this, the La Poste Mobile brand will continue to exist. The negotiations have in fact resulted in a licensing contract which will consolidate the La Poste Mobile brand, whose name will always belong to the postal group.