Numericable plans $15-bn cash bid for Vivendi's SFR

Numericable SA and its shareholder Altice SA are preparing a cash offer of about Euro11 billion ($15.2 billion) to acquire Vivendi SA's phone unit SFR, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Patrick Drahi, the billionaire that controls both Altice and French cable operator Numericable, has guarantees from lenders for Euro8 billion of debt and will seek to raise the remainder through capital increases, the person said, asking not to be identified because the plan is confidential. Drahi hasn't yet made a formal bid, the person said.

Drahi plans to contribute Numericable to account for about a third of a merged entity with SFR, the person said.

Vivendi accepting an offer for SFR would mean the scrapping of a spinoff of France's second-largest mobile-phone company to focus on media assets. Liberum Capital Ltd. analysts value SFR at about Euro12 billion. SFR is now the subject of a three-way contest among Numericable, Iliad SA, and Bouygues SA, all of which are discussing potential offers, people familiar with the situation said last week.

Representatives for Numericable and Vivendi declined to comment. Les Echos reported the planned bid earlier on Monday.

Vivendi and Numericable have negotiated on and off over the past year without coming to an agreement on price, people familiar with the matter said last week. While talks with Numericable are the most advanced, Iliad and Bouygues are trying to derail those negotiations and overcome regulators' scepticism about mobile mergers, they said.

Operators across Europe are looking for ways to consolidate as costs rise for high-speed mobile networks and regulators impose new rules on revenue sources such as roaming.

Phone companies in France have been eyeing consolidation for more than a year to stop a price war brought on by the arrival of a fourth carrier, though their talks have never made it past the informal first approach.