Multinational cable and telecommunications company Altice and French cable MSO Numericable Group have confirmed the closing of the transaction to combine mobile operator SFR and Numericable.

Vivendi received €13.366 billion in cash of which €200 million will be contributed to the financing of the acquisition of Virgin Mobile by Numericable Group. The amount of €13.166 billion will be subject to an accounting analysis to confirm the estimated amount of net indebtedness, in accordance with the contract.

Vivendi will keep a 20 per cent stake in the new combined entity, which it will be free to sell after a one-year lock-up period, subject to Altice’s pre-emption right. Altice has call options exercisable in several tranches at market value subject to a floor between the 19th and the 43rd month following the November 27 closing.

Vivendi also has the potential to receive an earn-out of €750 million depending on the future financial performance of the new entity.

Patrick Drahi, founder and Chairman of the Altice group, and Chairman of the Board of the new Numericable-SFR group, said that by bringing together Numericable and SFR, the companies were creating the French champion in very high speed broadband and in the convergence of fixed and mobile networks. “This is a trend throughout the sector, borne out across Europe and around the world,” he noted.

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