Bouygues CEO: Consolidation Of France’s Telecoms Market Is Impossible

A merger between two of France’s four telecoms operators is now impossible, said the chief executive officer of Bouygues Telecom’s parent company.

“I think it’s a movement that has become impossible,” Martin Bouygues told analysts on Thursday, after the publication of the conglomerate’s first-half results.

“It’s a political choice that we have to accept,” he added.

The French telecoms sector has been awash with regular merger speculation ever since a round of talks between Orange, Altice Europe’s SFRand Iliad failed three years ago, ending an attempt to ease a price war that has hit the margins of all four companies.―Reuters