ACQUISITION OF INFRACOS BY PHOENIX TOWER INTERNATIONAL
Another American technical advance supported by Blackstone & BlackRock.
Timeline & Context of the Operation
The definitive buyout of Infracos by Phoenix Tower International (PTI), finalized on December 23, 2025, marks a major turning point in the structuring of the French passive telecom infrastructure market. Infracos, a joint venture created in 2014 between Bouygues Telecom and SFR to pool infrastructure costs in semi-dense areas, now transfers approximately 3,700 sites (~6.5% of the total French fleet of pylons, rooftops, 4G/5G antennas) under the control of an American investor backed by the world's largest infrastructure funds.
The operation falls within a compressed regulatory timeline: notification to the French Competition Authority in September 2025, authorization without restrictions on November 4, 2025, then closure two months later. This accelerated trajectory reveals a regulatory consensus on the absence of conflicting competitive issues, contrasting sharply with the debates raised by the operation itself at strategic and political levels.
Economic & Business Dimension
Valuation and financial flows
The transaction, estimated between 800 million and 1 billion euros, values the assets at approximately 300,000 euros per site, a standard modality in this infrastructure segment. For the sellers, the financial benefits are strategic but differentiated. SFR (owned by Altice) receives 480 million euros gross, a key argument in Altice's refinancing plan aimed at reducing its debt from 15 billion to 13 billion euros before a possible sale of the operator itself. Bouygues Telecom, meanwhile, achieves 300 to 350 million euros in net debt reduction, consolidating its strategy of progressive disposal of non-essential assets.
Underlying economic model
The emergence of this type of transaction reflects a profound questioning of the integrated model of traditional telecom operators. Telecommunications towers, long perceived as a necessary operational asset, have become a distinct asset class: capital intensive, low risk, generating indexed long-term contractual revenues, and capable of consolidation by specialized third parties. This vertical decomposition — where operators sell the infrastructure and retain customer relationships and 5G services — responds to a logic of capital optimization and disciplined allocation of investment resources.
Phoenix Tower International, founded in 2013, embodies this model. Supported by Blackstone's tactical funds (1.4 billion dollar recapitalization in 2020), as well as by BlackRock, Wren House, Grain Management and USS, the company now operates more than 33,000 towers worldwide, including approximately 10,000 in France post-acquisition. Its French expansion, first through a joint venture with Bouygues in 2020 (Phoenix France Infrastructures, nearly 4,000 pylons planned by 2031), is being consolidated with this major acquisition.
Technical & Operational Dimension
Service continuity and rental model
From an operational standpoint, the acquisition does not involve any infrastructure dismantling. The 3,700 sites remain in place; SFR and Bouygues simply transition from owner status to long-term tenant status of these passive infrastructures. This contractual transformation maintains territorial coverage and 4G/5G deployments without disruption.
The rental model to PTI, as with any TowerCo (telecommunications tower company), is based on neutrality: the operator accepts clients (mobile operators, local authorities for IoT, surveillance, etc.) and optimizes site utilization through colocation. This model contrasts with operator-owned pylons, often built for a single client and underutilized.
Technical transformation involved
The areas covered by Infracos — medium-dense, semi-rural, rural — require different infrastructure engineering than urban areas. These sites, deemed less profitable by operators focused on client density, become generic assets for a multi-client TowerCo, economically justifying their maintenance and gradual modernization towards 5G.
Regulatory & Competition Dimension
Authorization without conditions
The French Competition Authority, in its decision of November 4, 2025, authorized the operation without imposing restrictive conditions. Its analysis concludes that PTI's acquisition of 3,736 sites (the carve-out of certain sites before disposal having reduced the scope) is not likely to harm competition in the relevant markets.
This verdict reflects an interpretation that the French passive infrastructure market has sufficient competition: Cellnex Telecom, Totem (Orange subsidiary), On Tower France, Hivory, ATC France and TDF already operate there. TowerCos collectively hold a majority share of rooftops and nearly half of national pylons.
Foreign investment control
The operation received approval from the Ministry of Economy under foreign investment control. Unlike semiconductors or sensitive cloud capacities, passive tower infrastructures are not classified among sectors with strict restrictions. This absence of blocking reveals a doctrinal asymmetry: strategic digital segments are protected, while their physical foundations remain treated as ordinary commercial assets.
ARCEP and regulatory continuity
ARCEP, guardian of service quality and coverage obligations, validated the modification of network sharing agreements following the operation. The authority retains its technical prerogatives, but does not intervene in the patrimonial ownership of infrastructures.
Strategic Dimension: Digital Sovereignty
The acquisition of Infracos crystallizes a structural paradox: economic rationality and sovereignty operate on incompatible timelines. The business logic — pooling, capital optimization, 5G acceleration — is irreproachable. The strategic logic questions: who owns and arbitrates the physical foundations of national mobile coverage?
PTI, piloted by American institutional funds, responds to a logic of global returns and geographically flexible capital allocation. These priorities do not mechanically align with French imperatives of territorial planning or resilience in case of crisis.
Beyond regulatory compliance, a question of sovereign arbitration arises. Investment decisions, once made by integrated French groups, now fall under foreign patrimonial strategy. In the medium term, this externality constitutes a discrete but real systemic risk.
The operation finally reveals a European doctrinal void. While the European Union is developing industrial policies on semiconductors or cloud, passive telecom infrastructures remain a strategic blind spot.
References
FrenchWeb – "Behind telecom towers, a strategic question of sovereignty"
https://www.frenchweb.fr/derriere-les-tours-telecoms-une-question-strategique-de-souverainete/459526
Competition Authority – Decision 25-DCC-218 (2025-11-04)
https://www.autoritedelaconcurrence.fr/sites/default/files/integral_texts/2025-11/25-204-Publique%20d%C3%A9cision%2025DCC218.pdf
CFNews Infra – "SFR and Bouygues Telecom pylons attract a buyer"
https://www.cfnewsinfra.net/Les-Alertes-de-CFNEWS-INFRA/Les-pylones-de-SFR-et-Bouygues-Telecom-captent-un-repreneur-512574
Bouygues Telecom – Press Release (2025-07-30)
https://www.corporate.bouyguestelecom.fr/archives-communique-presse/bouygues-telecom-et-sfr-entrent-en-negociations-exclusives-avec-phoenix-tower-international-en-vue-de-lui-ceder-leur-societe-commune-infracos/
CFTC SFR – "SFR and Bouygues announce the sale of Infracos"
https://www.cftcsfr.fr/sfr-et-bouygues-annoncent-la-vente-dinfracos/
PRNewswire – Phoenix Tower International closes acquisition of Infracos
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/phoenix-tower-international-closes-on-the-acquisition-of-approximately-3-700-sites-from-bouygues-telecom-and-sfr-302649285.html
Blackstone – Phoenix Tower International Capital Raise ($1.4B)
https://www.blackstone.com/news/press/blackstone-announces-1-4-billion-final-close-of-phoenix-tower-international-capital-raise/
Frandroid – "SFR and Bouygues get rid of their telecom towers"
https://www.frandroid.com/services/operateurs-mobiles/2622143_sfr-et-bouygues-se-debarrassent-de-leurs-tours-telecoms-en-zone-rurale-faut-il-sinquieter-pour-son-reseau-mobile
Paris Court of Appeal – Decision 23/01145 (TowerCo)
https://justice.pappers.fr/decision/09fba00be11570b73670919cc4b23e5d27c1bcdf
France 2030 – Foreign investment control
https://quantique.france2030.gouv.fr/securite-protection/controle-des-investissements-etrangers/
Relians – 2025 guidelines for IEF control
https://relians.fr/lignes-directrices-2025-controle-des-investissements-etrangers-en-france-ief/
ARCEP – Mobile network sharing
https://www.arcep.fr/actualites/actualites-et-communiques/detail/n/partage-de-reseaux-mobiles-301025.html
SecuSlice – "Telecom towers: a question of sovereignty"
https://secuslice.com/2026/01/tours-telecoms-une-question-de-souverainete/
La Tribune – "Orange seeking clients for its Totem subsidiary"
https://www.latribune.fr/technos-medias/telecoms/orange-en-quete-de-clients-pour-sa-filiale-totem-1028074.html
