French telecoms companies Orange and Bouygues in merger talks

A telecoms giant with over half of France’s fixed-line and mobile markets. That’s on the table if a merger between Orange and Bouygues goes ahead.

The two companies have revived talks on a merger though Orange said there was no time limit on them and no commitment to any particular outcome adding it was exploring the French telecoms market.

In a separate statement Bouygues said it had signed a confidential agreement with Orange and that preliminary discussions had started to look at possible options.

French newspaper reports suggested Orange was looking at buying Bouygues for 10 billion euros in cash and shares.

If the deal did go ahead it would reduce the number of French telecoms operators to three from four.