The Competition Authority has unreservedly approved the acquisition of La Poste Telecom by Bouygues Telecom, an operation which concerns 2.3 million customers. This authorization marks a key step in the takeover of La Poste Telecom, previously held by the La Poste group and SFR, by Bouygues Telecom. For the record, Bouygues gave priority to Free, which was closely interested in this issue.
Update 11/15:
Bouygues Telecom officially acquires the virtual operator La Poste Mobile and announces the conclusion of an exclusive distribution agreement with the La Poste Group.
A buyout validated by the regulator
The Authority estimated that this acquisition presents no risk to competition in the relevant markets. It therefore gave the green light without imposing any particular conditions, as specified in a press release published on its site.
This operation, worth 950 million euros, was notified to the regulator on July 12, five months after Bouygues Telecom announced that it was in exclusive negotiations for the takeover of La Poste Telecom. The agreement also stipulates that La Poste will retain management of the brand’s distribution within its post offices.
The Authority judged that this acquisition would not harm competition, in particular due to the limited market shares of La Poste Telecom. It also took into account competition from the main telephone operators, namely Orange, SFR and Free.
In addition, the Authority ruled out the risk that Bouygues Telecom could restrict or refuse access to its network to other virtual operators competing with La Poste Telecom, which do not have their own infrastructures and depend on the networks of large operators.
Finally, apart from the agreement of the Competition Authority, this acquisition also requires the approval of SFR, which is the network supplier of La Poste Telecom until the end of 2026. SFR has a right of pre-emption on the shares put up for sale and a right of approval on the purchaser. Except that SFR is in great difficulty, its boss, Patrick Drahi, having more than 55 billion in debt with his Altice group, the parent company of the red square operator.
Currently, La Poste Telecom is the fifth operator in the French market, behind Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile. Bouygues is also offering a nice promotion on its B&YOU package at €8.99 for 100 GB in 5G.
Information about the two companies:
- Bouygues Telecom is a subsidiary of Bouygues SA, the parent company of the Bouygues group. The company operates in the field of electronic communications, offering fixed and mobile telephone services, as well as high and very high speed Internet access. In the mobile telephony sector, Bouygues Telecom acts as a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) in mainland France, while also offering a wholesale offer to Lycamobile, a Mobile Virtual network operator. Network Operator or MVNO).
- La Poste Telecom is a company jointly owned by the La Poste group and SFR. It operates in the field of electronic communications in mainland France, as well as in Réunion, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana. As a virtual mobile operator (MVNO), La Poste Telecom buys its airtime from SFR. Its mobile telephony offers are marketed under the La Poste Mobile brand to around 2.3 million customers.
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