Bouygues Shares Jump as Phone Assets Draw Altice’s Interest

Bouygues SA shares jumped to the highest in more than four years in Paris after cable billionaire Patrick Drahi’s Altice SA was reported to have stepped up plans for a potential takeover of its telecommunications asset.

Drahi’s media and telecom group is examining the financial and regulatory obstacles to a transaction with Bouygues, and advisers to the two companies have held informal talks about a potential deal, Bloomberg News reported after the close of European markets on Feb. 13, citing people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.