The three arguments Bouygues to decline 10 billion SFR – The Obs

come in threes? Patrick Drahi will have to review again its offer if it really wants to merge its SFR Bouygues Telecom with its competitor after a board twice longer than expected – which was a bad sign – Martin Bouygues refused his ten billion, with 3 arguments:

• The first one that will be easier to retoquer: Martin Bouygues think that its subsidiary, which he created and developed itself, and to which it holds sentimental, can live alone. For 3 years, she was shaken by the arrival of Free Mobile, and she had to lay, making losses, reinvent, but Martin Bouygues is convinced he ate his black bread and to continue alone. True or false? There is no known business leader, very attached to his company, which eventually give way when the check thickens. Drahi had proposed € 7.5 billion three months ago, it increased to 10 billion. If he spends 12 billion, maybe Martin Bouygues will review its commitment … Even if it is not necessarily wrong either: after 2,000 job cuts, the company is probably resized to withstand competition from Free . and SFR
• The second argument will require a much more complicated than a simple response to Drahi price: Bouygues pointed out that no one knows what will decide the competition authority. Some mergers have already been retoquées in the past, causing major difficulties for the companies in question. Martin Bouygues noted that the auction will start soon to buy the state of new 4G frequencies. What can be done if SFR is now redeem society still fighting for win and raise prices or not? Wisdom requires it to buy, though. Which lost its interest in the merger. To counter this argument, Drahi has only one way: to make a firm offer unconditionally. It’s risky
• Finally, the third argument is surprising. Bouygues emphasizes the social side to say no. This is double-edged: first, if he changed his mind in the future, then he will retort that his social conscience was therefore a price. Yet it is true that the Bouygues group has always been conscious of its employees … but not necessarily of its subcontractors. And he recently threatened to dismiss the LCI teams. In short, this argument is strange, even disturbing: either the boss is playing with the fears of its employees – and that’s not really his style – or he really has no intention to sell the company, whatever the price Drahi offer. And that is even more incredible than anything. And it will require a truly Drahi to check, but then really big to win.

Claude Soula