Iliad SA

French billionaire Xavier Niel has teamed up with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's <URW.AS> former boss to oppose the shopping mall group's planned 3.5 billion euro ($4.10 billion) rights issue, lifting the shares on Thursday.

French telecoms operator Iliad is poised to secure EU antitrust clearance for its 3.5 billion euro ($4.11 billion) takeover of Polish mobile group Play <PLY.WA>, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

EU antitrust regulators are expected to clear French telecoms operator Iliad's 3.5 billion euro ($4.11 billion) takeover of Polish mobile group Play, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The French state will receive about 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in proceeds from the sale of the country's 5G spectrum sale following an auction that ended on Thursday, the country's telecoms regulator said.

French telecoms operators brought the price tag for the country's 5G spectrum to at least 2.4 billion euros on Tuesday, the first day of a long-delayed auction that the government upheld in defiance of growing opposition to the new technology.

EU antitrust regulators will decide by Oct. 26 whether to clear French telecoms operator Iliad's 3.5-billion-euro ($4.1 billion) bid for Polish mobile group Play, a filing on the European Commission's website showed on Tuesday.

Iliad's move to buy Polish mobile group Play in a $4.2 billion deal got a cool reception from investors on Monday as the French company already faces heavy investments in France and Italy.

Shares in French telecoms operator Iliad fell on Thursday, as the group's forecast for heavy investments in its network offset a strong first-half boosted by subscriber gains.

French telecoms operator Free, a subsidiary of Iliad <ILD.PA>, has not been authorised by the government to roll out mobile gear manufactured by China's Huawei [HWT.UL], contrary to local rivals Bouygues Telecom <BOUY.PA> and SFR <ATCA.AS>, its CEO said on Tuesday.

French telecoms operator Iliad on Thursday reported a rise in half-year revenue helped by a third consecutive quarter of new mobile subscribers and further network rollouts.

A protest movement against the deployment of 5G mobile technology in France risks dampening the country's attractiveness to investors, French tycoon Xavier Niel said on Tuesday.

Iliad has signed a deal with broadband operator Open Fiber to offer fixed-line services in Italy, it said on Tuesday, as the French telecoms group taps into greater demand for ultra-fast connectivity triggered by the coronavirus crisis.

Open Fiber said on Tuesday it has signed a deal with French low- cost operator Iliad to offer fiber-to-the-home services in 271 Italian cities.

French mobile operator Iliad is close to signing a deal with broadband network company Open Fiber to offer fixed-line data services in Italy, sources said on Wednesday.

Swiss telecoms operator Sunrise Communications Group and French billionaire Xavier Niel's Salt Mobile on Tuesday pledged to invest up to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.09 billion) in a broadband partnership aimed at reaching 1.5 million homes by 2027.

Telecoms group Iliad <ILD.PA> said on Tuesday that business activity and the rollout of its broadband networks had slowed sharply because of coronavirus lockdowns in France and Italy but it kept its full-year targets.

French telecoms group Iliad said on Tuesday that first-quarter sales rose 6.9% from a year earlier, driven by higher broadband and mobile subscriptions.

French private equity company InfraVia Capital Partners said on Monday it has closed a new tech-focused 270 million euros ($292 million) fund, which has attracted investors including Iliad telecoms founder Xavier Niel.

* ILIAD LAUNCHES SOLID-19, A SUPPORT FUND FOR ITS SMALL-BUSINESS SUB-CONTRACTORS