The French Competition Authority rules Bouygues Telecom’s acquisition of mobile network operator La Poste Telecom will not be a risk to competition.
France’s Bouygues Telecom has moved one step closer to gaining full ownership of La Poste Telecom after national competition officials approved the deal.
La Poste Group, which runs France’s mail service but also has a telecommunications service, already owns 51% of La Poste Telecom.
The other 49% is under the control of French rival network operator SFR.
“The Authority has ruled out any risk of harm to competition linked to the transaction on the markets concerned,” competition officials said in a statement on Monday.
Due to La Poste Telecom’s “limited market share”, they noted that there would be “a limited change in the structure of competition”.
The statement added that, although Bouygues Telecom would benefit from La Poste’s strong physical presence in France, many customers are purchasing telecom plans either online or on the phone.
This ensures that consumers continue to have a choice of provider, preventing firms with physical branches from monopolising the market.
Although the Competition Authority has approved the takeover “without conditions”, the deal still requires the agreement of SFR.
The rival firm, which is currently against some elements of the acquisition, has committed to providing the network used by La Poste Telecom until the end of 2026.
SFR also has a pre-emption right, meaning it currently has priority access to La Poste Telecom shares if they are put up for sale.
In February, the Bouygues Telecom group said it had signed an exclusivity agreement with La Poste Group to buy La Poste Telecom for €950mn, five months before the Competition Authority was officially notified.
At the time, Bouygues Telecom said that the deal would allow it to “strengthen its mobile customer base of around 2.3 million individuals”.
