en.Wedoany.com Reported - Bouygues Telecom, Orange, and Iliad submitted revised acquisition bids to rival operator SFR this week, valuing the business at €20.4 billion. The three companies' initial €17 billion offer last year was rejected. Drahi had hinted that he was seeking a bid close to €20 billion.

Under the proposed deal, the three telecom operators would split most of SFR's assets. Bouygues Telecom would receive 42%, Iliad 31%, and Orange 27%. All three operators would gain parts of SFR's consumer business, including mobile and fixed broadband customers, while the B2B business would be divided solely between Bouygues Telecom and Iliad. SFR's physical network assets, including fixed and mobile networks and spectrum holdings, would be primarily allocated among the three partners.

The proposal does not include Altice's smaller assets, including stakes in Intelcia, UltraEdge, and XP Fibre, as well as Altice's operations in France's overseas departments and territories.

Since the deal would reduce the number of mobile operators in the market from four to three, any transaction would face strict regulatory scrutiny. Traditionally, European regulators have been reluctant to approve such mergers, believing they would reduce competition and drive up consumer costs. However, in recent years, opposition to such mergers has weakened, with several large deals approved, including the mergers of UK's Three with Vodafone and Spain's Orange with MasMovil. This trend appears set to continue. Earlier this week, the European Commission announced it is seeking to relax merger rules across the EU, aiming to create "European champions" with the scale to compete with foreign industry giants.