Vivendi and its French telecom subsidiary SFR are readying to float the operator if markets conditions allow it, said SFR chairman Stephane Roussel at a telecom and internet conference organised by Les Echos. Vivendi chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou had already mentioned at the group’s April AGM that finding a strategy was one of his priorities for SFR, which could eventually be floated, though not in the short term. While SFR did not give an official target date, Vivendi management is reportedly considering listing the operator towards the end of 2014 or in early 2015.
Roussel said the plan would be for SFR to become a CAC 40 index company. SFR’s EUR 10 billion revenue and valuation of EUR 12 billion to EUR 13 billion would place it in this category. Roussel said he expected LTE ARPU to be EUR 10 a month higher than 3G, but perhaps not until 2014 or 2015. In meantime SFR’s restructuring plan will be “intensified”. He added that the next two years will be the hardest due to investments in 4G and fibre.
