Telecom Firm Altice Fined In France For Breaking Merger Commitments

On 19 April 2016, Luxembourg-based telecom group Altice was fined a total of €15 million by the French Competition Authority ("FCA") for failing to comply with certain commitments relating to the acquisition by its subsidiary, Numericable, of rival SFR.

On 30 October 2014, the FCA granted its approval for Altice to take sole control of mobile-telephone operator SFR, subject to certain commitments.  The transaction, as notified, would have resulted in Altice having high market shares in mobile telephony in two French overseas territories in the Indian Ocean: 66% in La Réunion and 90% in Mayotte.  In order to address this, Altice committed to divesting Outremer Télécom, a mobile telephony business which Altice operated in La Réunion and Mayotte.  Further, Altice agreed not to interfere with the management of Outremer Télécom's business, pending its divestment.