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Iliad SA

Iliad SA, stylized as iliad, is a French telecommunications company. It is based in Paris and its operations comprise fixed and mobile telephony services, prepaid phone cards and Internet access providing and hosting services.

The company was founded by Xavier Niel in 1990.[1]

Iliad is the 5th largest European telecommunications group with 50 million subscribers through its subsidiaries in France, Italy, and Poland.[2]

History

Free Mobile, a subsidiary of Iliad, was launched in 2012. As of December 2013, it was France's fourth largest mobile operator, having gained a 12% share of the market.[3]

On August 1, 2014, Iliad publicly announced a bid to acquire a 56% stake in the United States wireless carrier T-Mobile for US$16 billion. The bid came amidst reports that competing carrier Sprint Corporation, owned by Japanese firm Softbank, was planning its own US$24 billion merger.[4][5][6] The bid was dropped in October 2014.[7]

As of the end of 2012, the company was active in over 35 countries.

In 2019, Iliad made 5.33 billion revenue.[8]

Iliad Italia, an Italian subsidiary of Iliad, was launched in Milan, Lombardy on May 29, 2018.[9][10]

In May 2019, Iliad and Salt sold a majority of their telecommunications towers in France, Italy, and Switzerland to Cellnex Telecom for €2.7 billion — €2 billion for Iliad (covering 70% of its towers) and €700 million for Salt (90% of its towers).[11] The deal included approximately 5,700 towers in France and 2,200 in Italy.[12]

In September 2020, Iliad acquired Play, the largest mobile operator in Poland, for US$4.2 billion.[13]

In July 2021, Xavier Niel, founder of Iliad, announced the acquisition of the remaining 29% of the company he did not already own, in a US$3.7 billion deal.[14]

In September 2021, Iliad acquired UPC Poland, a subsidiary of Liberty Global, for €1.5 billion.[15]

Subsidiaries

See also

  • Telecommunications in France
  • Telecommunications in Ireland
  • Telecommunications in Italy
  • Telecommunications in Luxembourg
  • Telecommunications in Poland
  • Telecommunications in Sweden

External links

References

  1. Iliad SA Financial Times, retrieved 6 September 2014^
  2. Résultats : Iliad franchit le seuil des 10 milliards d’euros de chiffre d’affaires ZD Net, March 25, 2025^
  3. Anne Morris. Inside the fight for the future of France's mobile market: What happens when SFR is finally sold? ZDNet, 21 March 2014, retrieved 30 Jul 2019^
  4. Sprint Said to Plan T-Mobile Bid as Banks Pushed to Fund retrieved 2 August 2014^
  5. Surprise Bidder Enters Battle for T-Mobile US The Wall Street Journal, retrieved 2 August 2014^
  6. Free Mobile sparks French telecoms war Financial Times, retrieved 2 August 2014^
  7. France's Iliad Drops Plan to Acquire T-Mobile US The Wall Street Journal, retrieved 14 October 2014^
  8. Iliad's 2019 accounts LegalTile^
  9. Mobile : le "basta !" d'Iliad, qui se lance en Italie La Tribune, 29 May 2018, retrieved 29 May 2018^
  10. Iliad débarque en Italie avec une offre qu'il veut "révolutionnaire" Capital, 29 May 2018, retrieved 29 May 2018^
  11. Iliad (Free) dresse une nouvelle feuille de route pour 2024 validate.perfdrive.com, 2019-05-07, retrieved 2025-05-12^
  12. Mathieu Rosemain. French tycoon Niel to sell mobile towers to Cellnex for 2.7 billion euros reuters.com, 2019-05-07, retrieved 2025-05-12^
  13. Mathieu Rosemain. Iliad's shares fall after $4.2 billion bid for Polish telco Play reuters.com, September 21, 2020, retrieved 2025-05-12^
  14. Sudip Kar-Gupta. French billionaire Niel bids $3.7 bln to take Iliad private reuters.com, July 30, 2021, retrieved 2025-05-12^
  15. Iliad poursuit sa conquête de l'Europe en rachetant UPC Poland Les Echos, 2021-09-22, retrieved 2025-05-12^