Iliad SA

French telecoms operator Iliad reported a 8.4% rise in half-year revenue to 2.60 billion euros on Tuesday despite losing 127,000 subscribers while rivals gained market share.

French tycoon Xavier Niel has agreed a 2.7 billion euro ($3.02 billion) deal to sell mobile towers in France, Italy and Switzerland to Cellnex as he seeks to bolster the finances of his telecoms group Iliad.

Telecoms group Iliad said it was in talks over selling its mobile tower assets in France and Italy to Cellnex for 2 billion euros ($2.24 billion), in a deal that should strengthen Iliad's financial position.

France's AMF stock market regulator said it had fined telecoms group Iliad and Iliad's chairman, Maxime Lombardini, for incorrect financial communication regarding certain deals in 2014.

* Sees return to growth first-half of 2019 (Recasts story, adds details, background)

Telecoms operator Iliad cut its cash-flow target for 2020 in France after a challenging year marked by heavy market promotions that hit revenues, and it added it was considering selling part of its mobile assets.

Shares of French telecoms group Iliad hit an 8-year low on Thursday after a press report pointed to a slowdown of the Italian market and rivals' remarks suggested sales of its new set-top box had no significant impact.

Telecom operator Iliad unveiled on Tuesday a new high-end set-up box with luxury audio speakers and embedded video applications which it sees reviving sluggish sales in France.

France's Iliad is including a Netflix subscription and Amazon's voice assistant Alexa among the key features of its new set-top box as it seeks to revive declining sales, chief executive Thomas Reynaud said on Tuesday.

French telecoms operator Free, which is expected to unveil a new internet set-top box in a bid to revive customer subscriptions, on Friday sent out press invitations for a "keynote" presentation on Dec. 4, though it did not give details.

Telecoms group Iliad said third quarter revenues rose 1.7 percent, helped by its recent entry into Italy but it faced tougher competition in its domestic French market where the company had fewer mobile and fixed subscribers in the quarter.

French telecoms group Iliad said third quarter revenues had risen 1.7 percent from a year ago, with its recent foray into Italy performing reasonably well and helping offset tough competition in its main domestic market.

French telecoms group Iliad said it paid 1.19 billion euros ($1.4 billion) to buy 5G mobile phone frequencies for Italy, a market it entered this year as it grappled with tougher competition in France.

Iliad has offered at least 749 million euros ($867 million) for spectrum in Italy's fifth-generation mobile auction as it seeks to boost its first venture outside France.

Shares in Iliad, the French telecoms group founded by billionare Xavier Niel, rose on Tuesday after Iliad won the frequency for the 5G mobile phone licence in Italy with a 676.5 million euros ($786.77 million) bid.

French telecoms group Iliad <ILD.PA>, whose cut-price deals shook up the country's mobile market, is now being beaten at its own game as a price war dented its market share in the first half of the year and led it to cut a key profitability target.

French telecoms group Iliad said its number of subscribers in both fixed and mobile declined in the first half, compelling it to amend its mid-term profitability targets.

French telecoms operator Iliad said on Wednesday that it had lost customers in some parts of its business but won over others elsewhere, as it responded to media articles that it had been losing out to market leader Orange.

The shares of French telecoms operator Iliad plummeted on Tuesday on concerns it might be losing customers to market leader Orange.