0755 GMT - Unlike Vodafone's merger with Three in U.K., Orange doesn't anticipate offering massive incremental network-investment commitments as behavioral remedies to appease regulators, Orange Chief Executive Christel Heydemann says in a call. Bouygues Telecom, Orange and Free-iliad Group's deal to buy most of Altice's French business, known as SFR, in a 20.35 billion-euro deal is justified by synergies, network efficiencies, and the need to secure financial capacity to sustain future investments, she says. The parties will focus investments on resilience, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. "The transaction is absolutely not based on any form of market repair or price increase," she adds. Orange shares are up 1.9% and Bouygues shares are down 0.8%.(najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 08, 2026 03:56 ET (07:56 GMT)

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