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French telcos’ boards say negotiations are not yet ‘sufficiently advanced’.
Orange and Bouygues announced on Thursday they have pushed back the deadline for agreeing Orange’s planned acquisition of Bouygues Telecom to 3 April, giving them more time to finalise a deal.
The boards of each company met separately on Wednesday to discuss the transaction with the aim of reaching a decision on Thursday.
"The board acknowledged that the negotiations were not yet sufficiently advanced," said Orange, in a brief statement.
Bouygues expressed the same sentiments in a statement of its own.
The French telcos now plan to continue negotiating with a view to reaching a decision by the end of Sunday 3 April.
Sources cited by Reuters and Bloomberg on Wednesday claimed that there a several significant issues that still need to be resolved, such as financial terms and the sale of certain Bouygues Telecom assets to rival operators Iliad and SFR.
Orange and Bouygues Telecom confirmed in January that they had entered into merger talks.
The deal is expected to be worth €10 billion, with Bouygues receiving a stake in Orange worth €8 billion and the remainder in cash.
Orange CEO Stephane Richard in February gave the deal a 50:50 chance of succeeding.
