Brookfield and Vauban Submitted Final Bids for Altice's 50.1% XpFibre Stake. KKR and DigitalBridge Dropped Out.

Two Bidders Standing in XpFibre Auction

By early June 2026, the sale process for a 50.1% stake in XpFibre had come down to two players: Canadian infrastructure giant Brookfield Asset Management and a consortium of Vauban Infrastructure Partners and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC. Both submitted binding offers by the deadline of approximately June 5, according to ION Analytics, citing six sources familiar with the deal.

KKR, DigitalBridge, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) — all shortlisted into the second phase — are no longer expected to make an offer, ION Analytics reported. GIP and Ardian exited even earlier, failing to advance past the first round.

AK&M, the Russian financial news agency, reported as recently as June 19 that DigitalBridge and KKR were still active bidders. That framing is outdated. ION Analytics, citing six sources closer to the deal, reported on June 2 that those two had already stepped back. The AK&M account appears to draw on earlier reporting from before the final-round deadline passed.

What XpFibre Is Actually Worth

XpFibre operates more than seven million fiber-to-the-home connections across France, making it one of the country's largest FTTH operators, according to ION Analytics. Altice management projected in 2025 that XpFibre would generate more than €400 million in EBITDA during that year.

In 2024, a previous sale attempt collapsed because bidders valued the business at €6 billion to €7 billion including debt — below what Altice owner Patrick Drahi considered acceptable. In the current process, non-binding offers put the enterprise value at €7.8 billion to €8.4 billion, according to ION Analytics. The AK&M report cited initial offers of approximately €8 billion ($9.4 billion) including debt, which is broadly consistent.

Drahi is selling to shrink a $60 billion debt load, per AK&M. XpFibre is one piece of a larger asset liquidation that includes SFR, Altice's French mobile and broadband operator.

The SFR Complication

The XpFibre sale is not happening in a vacuum. Simultaneously, Altice was in talks — also closing around June 5 — to sell SFR to a consortium of Bouygues Telecom, Orange, and Iliad-Free, according to ION Analytics citing local French media.

SFR is XpFibre's largest customer. Whoever buys XpFibre is buying a network whose biggest client may soon be owned by a group of XpFibre's direct competitors. The buyer would be negotiating commercial terms with companies that have every incentive to roll off XpFibre's network onto their own infrastructure over time. Customer-concentration risk like this likely explains why KKR, DigitalBridge, and CPPIB walked rather than stretch on price.

Who's Left and Why

Brookfield joined the XpFibre process later than the other bidders but is described by ION Analytics as "one of the most motivated" parties. Brookfield has prior French infrastructure experience, notably through its ownership of TDF, the French broadcast and telecom tower company. Brookfield is being advised internally and has not disclosed external advisors on this deal.

The Vauban/GIC consortium has a specific strategic logic. Vauban already operates Vauban Infra Fibre, a French fiber business also backed by Credit Agricole Assurances. Combining XpFibre with Vauban Infra Fibre would create a significantly larger national footprint. Vauban is being advised by Nomura, according to ION Analytics. GIC already has a joint venture relationship with Vauban on the existing fiber business, making this a natural extension.

Altice is being advised by BNP Paribas and Lazard. XpFibre, Altice, Lazard, Nomura, Brookfield, Vauban, GIC, BNP Paribas, CPPIB, DigitalBridge, and KKR all declined to comment or did not respond to ION Analytics' requests.

The Minority Stake That Stays Put

Whoever wins the 50.1% does NOT get the whole company. The remaining 49.99% stake belongs to a consortium led by OMERS Infrastructure, which bought in back in 2019 for €1.7 billion — valuing XpFibre then at €3.4 billion, per AK&M. German insurer Allianz Capital Partners and French asset manager AXA IM Alts are also in that consortium. Their stake is not on the table. The new majority owner will need a working relationship with OMERS and its partners to govern XpFibre effectively.

The gap between XpFibre's 2019 valuation (€3.4 billion) and current enterprise value estimates (€7.8 billion to €8.4 billion) reflects years of fiber buildout and subscriber growth. It also reflects infrastructure investor appetite for regulated, long-duration assets, which remains strong despite rising financing costs.

The Unresolved Question

As of June 19, 2026, no winner has been publicly announced. The binding-offer deadline passed roughly two weeks ago, which means Altice and its advisors are now evaluating final proposals. The SFR sale's outcome will directly shape what the XpFibre buyer inherits as its revenue base. Until the SFR transaction is confirmed and its commercial terms with XpFibre disclosed, the fiber network's forward cash flow picture remains genuinely uncertain for whichever investor writes the check.