Bouygues said it was also concerned about the "execution risk" of Altice's offer, given the likely close regulatory scrutiny of the deal. The acquisition by Altice would see Bouygues Telecom merged with SFR-Numericable, reducing the country to three mobile networks and eliminating a major player on the fixed broadband market. Bouygues said it was not satisfied with Altice's response on how it would handle the regulatory questions, nor was there any certainty on how the deal would affect the 700 MHz band auction planned in France late this year.
Finally, Bouygues said it was concerned about the "social risks" of the acquisition, which would likely lead to numerous job losses. This has also been a pre-occupation of the French government, following Altice's acquisition of SFR last year and amid the ongoing price and margin pressure in the telecoms sector.
