Vivendi to acquire Vodafone stake in SFR

Vivendi is to acquire Vodafone’s 44% stake in French quad-play service provider SFR for €7.95 billion.

The deal will see the pair extend their existing commercial cooperation for a further three years.

Vivendi chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Levy said: “We are very pleased to reach our strategic objective to own 100% of SFR, which will help Vivendi to focus further on profitable growth and innovation. I am very confident that this will greatly benefit both the group’s industrial development and our millions of subscribers and consumers globally. The transaction will create a significant increase in Vivendi’s adjusted net income, enabling us to raise the dividend to our shareholders.”

Vivendi will pay €7.75 billion in cash, corresponding to a 6.2 multiple of SFR’s 2010 EBITDA plus a lump sum of €200 million to reflect cash generation in the first half of 2011. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by the end of June.