Three of France's main telecom groups said Tuesday they lodged a joint bid for SFR, a debt-laden rival struggling to keep up in an increasingly competitive market.

Orange, Iliad and Bouygues Telecom said they would split the bulk of SFR's assets among themselves in an offer valuing them at 17 billion euros ($19.7 billion).

The firms have made no secret of their interest since SFR's parent company Altice had to restructure its 24 billion euro debt load with creditors earlier this year.

The restructuring, one of the biggest ever in Europe and approved by a Paris commercial court in August, saw the debt trimmed to 15.5 billion euros but gave creditors a 45 percent stake in the company.

Altice's billionaire owner Patrick Drahi, who had borrowed massively to amass a telecoms and media empir

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