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Patrick Drahi, whose holding company Altice SA controls Numericable-SFR, is continuing to seek out European assets to grow his telecommunications empire that stretches from France, Israel and Portugal to the Caribbean.PHILIPPE WOJAZER/Reuters

Billionaire Patrick Drahi made an offer valued at more than €10-billion ($14-billion Canadian) to acquire France's third-largest mobile-phone company from Bouygues SA, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Mr. Drahi is bidding for Bouygues Telecom via his French wireless and cable unit Numericable-SFR SAS, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Rival Iliad SA, which is controlled by Xavier Niel, will take on some network assets and mobile frequencies to alleviate regulatory concerns, the people said. Bouygues SA's board will meet June 23 to discuss the proposal, they said.

Mr. Drahi, whose holding company Altice SA controls Numericable-SFR, is continuing to seek out European assets to grow his telecommunications empire that stretches from France, Israel and Portugal to the Caribbean. Last month, Altice agreed to acquire control of U.S. cable provider Suddenlink Communications in a deal valued at more than $9-billion (U.S.).

A combination of Numericable-SFR and Bouygues would have more than 30 million mobile subscribers and revenue of more than €15-billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

While informal talks have been taking place for months, negotiations accelerated in the past two weeks, the people said. Mr. Drahi decided to move more quickly as he is concerned that future interest-rate rises and market volatility due to Greek bailout talks may increase the cost of financing a bid, the people said.

Mr. Drahi has secured financing for the Bouygues Telecom bid, the people said. The offer would be paid in cash, with a loan from banks including BNP Paribas SA and JPMorgan Chase & Co., they said.

Representatives from Numericable-SFR, Iliad, Bouygues Telecom, BNP Paribas and JPMorgan declined to comment. Bloomberg reported in February that Mr. Drahi was stepping up plans for a takeover of Bouygues Telecom, and was examining the financial and regulatory obstacles to a deal.

Telecommunications companies are consolidating via mergers and acquisitions while cheap financing is available as they face increasing pressure to maintain profit growth. In May, Charter Communications Inc. agreed to buy Time Warner Cable Inc. for about $55-billion – a deal made more expensive by last-minute competition from Mr. Drahi.

The French tycoon said last month that Altice didn't bid for Time Warner Cable because it wasn't ready for an acquisition of that size, telling a hearing at France's National Assembly that he had backing from lenders to finance a transaction.

Any deal for Bouguyes Telecom is likely to face scrutiny from regulators, as well as potential pushback from the French government. Regulators will likely require the combined company to sell some assets for the deal to be approved, one of the people said.

"Consolidation isn't advisable for the sector," French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said in an e-mailed statement Sunday, adding that "the time isn't right." "Employment, investment and giving customers the best possible service should be the priority."

Just last week, the European Union's top antitrust official warned that she may take a tougher stance than her predecessor on the wave of mergers among telecommunications companies.

A successful combination of SFR with Bouygues would cut the number of network providers in France to three from four, following what has happened in Germany, Austria, Ireland and more recently been proposed in Britain.

SFR, Bouygues, Iliad and Orange SA discussed a similar plan late last year before talks fell apart, the people with knowledge of the matter said. That preparation helped Mr. Drahi move faster this time as he seeks to expand in France, they said.

Orange isn't part of any talks or deals at this point, but is open to discussions about consolidation in France, a spokesman for the carrier said via telephone. "We're certainly not going to take on employees if it's not part of a package that has value for Orange," he said.

The French phone carriers will also have to reassure the country's government that they will bid in the upcoming 700 megahertz spectrum auction to allow the state to raise its budgeted revenue from that sale, the people said.

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