French Telecom Giant SFR Sold for €20.35 Billion

A consortium including Orange and Free-Iliad has agreed to buy Patrick Drahi's debt-laden SFR for €20.35 billion, reshaping France's telecom landscape. The deal now faces a serious antitrust gauntlet before regulators in both Paris and Brussels, who will scrutinize whether consolidating France's major carriers harms competition. Drahi has been under financial pressure to offload assets as his Altice empire grapples with heavy debt loads.