The French Billionaire Who Quietly Amassed a Telecom Empire

French billionaire Xavier Niel rose to prominence in the telecom world for his ownership of domestic telco Iliad. He went on to capture the industry’s attention when Iliad sparked a price war in the mobile sector when the telco’s Free Mobile unit launched in January 2012. (Niel employed a similar price-war tactic when Iliad Italia launched in May 2018.)

But these companies only represent the tip of the iceberg.

Indeed, the size and scale of Niel’s empire are often overlooked due to convoluted shareholder structures, the use of myriad holding companies – including NJJ Capital, Atlas Investissement and Iliad itself – and the lack of a unified brand name across markets.

Today we piece it all together to appreciate the bigger picture.

Monaco

Operator: Monaco Telecom
Price: EUR321.8 million ($445 million) | 52% stake
Takeover Date: April 2014
Relaunch: N/A

NJJ Group (also referred to as NJJ Holding, and incorporating NJJ Capital) is an investment firm owned by Xavier Niel and established in 2010. Rather than using the better-known Iliad brand, the tycoon has used NJJ to stage a series of takeovers, commencing with a deal in the Principality of Monaco in 2014. In April of that year, NJJ Capital agreed to acquire a 52% stake in Monaco Telecom from Cable & Wireless Communications in a deal worth EUR321.8 million ($445 million).

A new logo was introduced in June 2015, but the Monegasque telco continues to trade under its original name. (Note: Monaco Telecom itself owns a 36.75% stake in Afghani mobile operator Roshan.)

Switzerland/Liechtenstein

Operator: Orange Switzerland/Orange Liechtenstein
Price: CHF2.8 billion ($2.9 billion)
Takeover Date: February 2015
Relaunch: April 2015 under the “Salt” brand name

In December 2014, Niel struck again. NJJ Capital agreed to take over Orange Switzerland—and its wholly-owned subsidiary Orange Liechtenstein—from Matterhorn Mobile, a company indirectly owned by private equity firm Apax Partners.

The deal, which was valued at CHF2.8 billion ($2.9 billion), was approved by Swiss regulatory authorities in early 2015 and completed in February that year. A rebranding exercise commenced in April 2015 and the two Orange businesses now trade as “Salt.”

Reunion/Mayotte

Operator: Outremer Telecom
Price: Undisclosed; assets valued at EUR100 million in June 2015
Takeover: October 2015
Relaunch: July 2017, under the “Free” brand name (Reunion only)

In October 2015 France’s Competition Authority approved Iliad Group’s acquisition of 50% of the capital of Telecom Reunion Mayotte, which operated in the French overseas territories of Reunion and Mayotte.

Hiridjee Group—now known as AXIAN Telecom—had owned Outremer Telecom (Only) mobile operations in the two countries since June 2015. In July 2017 the co-owners renamed the Reunion-based business under Iliad’s preferred “Free” brand name, although the Mayotte business continues to trade as “Only.”

Iliad went on to launch Free Mobile-branded services in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin (all May 2022) and French Guiana (June 2022); the group had owned unused mobile frequencies in the French overseas territories since November 2016.

Italy

Operator: Iliad Italia
Price: EUR450 million ($483 million)
Takeover Date: 2016
Launch: May 2018

In July 2016 Iliad reached an agreement with Italian mobile network operators 3 Italia and Wind Telecomunicazioni to acquire assets that their respective parent companies—CK Hutchison and VEON—wanted to offload in order to gain EC regulatory approval for their proposed merger.

The EUR450 million ($483 million) “remedy package” was successful in allaying EC fears, and Iliad went on to launch in Italy in May 2018 with a low-cost offer. It claimed the offer was up to five times cheaper than an equivalent tariff from Vodafone Italy and half the price of its next cheapest rival, Wind Tre. 

The strategy has proven to be well-judged, and Iliad had amassed an impressive 11.85 million subscribers as of Q1 2025.

Ireland

Operator: eir
Price: EUR3.5 billion ($4.1 billion) | 64.5% stake; since raised to 73.4%
Takeover Date: April 2018
Re-launch: N/A

In April 2018 NJJ Telecom Europe, part of NJJ Group, concluded its acquisition of a majority stake in eir of Ireland. Under the terms of the deal—which is valued at EUR3.5 billion ($4.1 billion)—NJJ took a 32.9% stake in eir, while Iliad acquired 31.6%.

Davidson Kempner divested its 8.9% stake in Eir to Niel in three tranches between September 2024 and February 2025. No financial details of the transaction were reported, but it has been confirmed that the deal allowed Niel to increase his indirect stake in Eir to more than 70%.

Anchorage Capital Group holds a minority 19.41% interest in Carraun, eir’s direct parent company.

Senegal

Operator: Tigo Senegal
Price: undisclosed; estimated at $129 million
Takeover Date: April 2018
Relaunch: October 2019, as “Free Senegal”

In a rare African acquisition, in July 2017 NJJ was part of a consortium that swooped in to acquire Tigo Senegal from Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular.

The consortium in question, Saga Africa Holdings, also comprises Teyliom Group and Sofima (part of the Axian Group).

While the deal’s valuation was not disclosed, a rival takeover attempt was valued at $129 million, providing a ballpark figure. The transaction closed in April 2018 and Tigo was eventually rebranded as “Free Senegal” in October 2019. This marked the first time that Niel and his affiliates used the Free brand outside of France or the French overseas territories.

Cyprus

Operator: MTN Cyprus
Price: EUR260 million ($304 million)
Takeover Date: September 2018
Relaunch: June 2019, as “Epic”

In July 2018 Johannesburg-listed telecom group MTN agreed to sell MTN Cyprus to Monaco Telecom in a cash deal worth EUR260 million ($304 million). The takeover concluded in September 2018; by June 2019 the telco had been renamed Epic, marking the introduction of yet another new brand by Niel.

Malta

Operator: Vodafone Malta
Price: EUR250 million ($278 million)
Takeover Date: TBC; agreed in December 2019
Relaunch: November 2020, as “Epic” 

December 2019 saw Vodafone Group sign an agreement to sell Vodafone Malta to Monaco Telecom in a cash deal valued at EUR250 million ($278 million).

Following the deal’s completion, Vodafone Malta will continue to operate under the Vodafone brand for a transitional period. The transaction closed in March 2020.

The Maltese unit continued to operate under the Vodafone brand for a transitional period, but in November 2020 the new name of Epic Malta was unveiled, mirroring the branding used in fellow Mediterranean nation Cyprus.

Poland

Operator: Play + UPC Poland
Price: EUR2.2 billion (USD2.6 billion) [Play] + PLN7 billion (USD1.8 billion) [UPC]
Takeover Date: September 2020-November 2020 (Play) + April 2022 (UPC)
Relaunch: UPC rebranded as “Play” in 2H23 

On 21 September 2020 it was announced that Play Communications was being acquired by Iliad, which had already agreed to purchase the respective 20.1% stakes of previous controlling shareholders Tollerton Investments and Novator Partners, giving it a 40.2% interest.

Iliad then conducted a public tender to acquire all remaining shares. The offer price of PLN39 was a premium of 38.8% over Play’s share price, valuing the cellco at EUR2.2 billion (USD2.6 billion). Iliad had upped its stake to 96.7% by 23 November 2020 and a squeeze-out procedure was begun a month later to acquire the remaining 3.3% of shares. By the end of 2021 Play was a 100% subsidiary of Iliad.

Further, in September 2021 Iliad Group and Liberty Global inked an agreement for Iliad to acquire cableco UPC Poland for an enterprise value of PLN7 billion (USD1.8 billion). Iliad had made a non-binding offer for UPC on 30 July. The acquisition – carried out via Play – was finalised in April 2022. The UPC Poland brand was phased out in the second half of 2023. The combined Play/UPC entity now ranks as Poland’s second largest telecoms group according to Iliad.

UK

Operator: Vodafone Group
Price: GBP750 million (USD850 million); 2.5% stake
Takeover Date: September 2022
Relaunch: No relaunch plans; strategic investment 

In September 2022 Atlas Investissement, an investment vehicle indirectly held by Xavier Niel, announced the acquisition of a 2.5% stake in British telecoms giant Vodafone Group. In a press release confirming the development, Atlas said it had identified the UK telco as ‘an attractive investment opportunity, as per the quality of its assets portfolio and the solid underlying trends in the global telecommunications sector’.

Atlas also took the opportunity to state its support for Vodafone Group’s ‘publicly-stated intention to pursue consolidation opportunities in selected geographies’, as well the British company’s efforts in infrastructure separation. Furthermore, the new shareholder said it was of the opinion that were ‘opportunities to accelerate both the streamlining of Vodafone’s footprint and the separation of its infrastructure assets, further reduce costs, improve profitability, accelerate broadband development in Germany and other geographies and enhance focus on innovation’.

According to the Financial Times the 2.5% stake was worth about GBP750 million (USD850 million) at current market prices, although it was not disclosed whether the stake was all in shares or partly in derivatives.

Latin America

Operator: Millicom International Cellular (MIC)
Price: Undisclosed; shareholder position built up via multiple private transactions
Takeover Date: October 2022-August 2024 (40.42%)
Relaunch: No relaunch plans; strategic investment

Xavier Niel acquired an initial 6.99% stake in Millicom International Cellular (MIC) in October 2022 via Atlas Investissement (also known as Atlas Luxco). The businessman worked to steadily increase his shareholding over the next two years, culminating with a controversial August 2024 buyout of shares from investors holding a combined 11.25% stake.

Despite an independent committee of board members’ arguing that the offer price would “significantly undervalue Millicom and not be in the best interests of Millicom’s shareholders,” Niel’s brazen approach won out and he now owns 40.42% of the LatAm-focused group, via his Iliad Holding unit, following an inter-holding company transfer.

Belgium

Operator: Proximus
Price: Undisclosed; 6% stake co-owned by NJJ and Iliad Holding
Takeover Date: November 2023
Relaunch: No relaunch plans; strategic investment

In November 2023 Xavier Niel acquired a 6% stake in Belgian full-service provider Proximus through his Irish holding company Carraun. ‘We support Proximus’ current strategy, and in particular the ambitious rollout of the fibre-optic network,’ Carraun said in a statement. The company did not disclose what price it paid for the shares.

Carraun, the parent company of Irish telecom operator eir, noted that the Irish incumbent and Proximus are pursuing similar strategies, focusing on value for money, investments in fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and 5G, and attracting talent.

With Carraun acquiring a 6% stake it means that NJJ indirectly holds 1.97% of the Belgian telco and Iliad indirectly holds 1.9%.

Sweden

Operator: Tele2 Group
Price: SEK13 billion (USD1.26 billion) – 19.8% stake co-owned by Iliad and NJJ Holding
Takeover Date: August 2024
Relaunch: No relaunch plans; strategic investment 

In February 2024 Swedish investment group Kinnevik agreed to sell its entire shareholding in Sweden’s Tele2 to Freya Investissement, an investment vehicle controlled by Iliad and Xavier Niel. The deal was valued at SEK13 billion (USD1.26 billion) and Iliad said it would complement the existing operations of itself and sister company NJJ Holding in France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Monaco, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta. The transaction took place in three phases, with the final stage (completed in August 2024) leaving Iliad/NJJ with a 19.8% economic stake in Tele2 and a voting interest below 30%.

Ukraine

Operator: Lifecell + Datagroup (incl. Volia)
Price: USD524 million (Lifecell) / undisclosed (Datagroup)
Takeover Date: September 2024
Relaunch: Unconfirmed; enlarged entity known as DVL Telecom (‘Datagroup-Volia-Lifecell’) 

On 29 December 2023 Turkcell of Turkey signed a share transfer agreement to sell all of its Ukrainian telecoms assets to NJJ Capital (part of NJJ Holding), including 100% of shares plus all rights and debts of Lifecell. NJJ went on close its takeover on 9 September 2024, paying around USD524 million for the company; minority stakes are held by Horizon Capital and Mykhailo Shelemba.

Also in September 2024 NJJ Holding completed the acquisition of Ukrainian fixed network operator Datagroup—including the country’s largest cable broadband provider, Volia.

While the enlarged entity is known as DVL Telecom (‘Datagroup-Volia-Lifecell’), there are currently no known plans for a rebranding exercise, with all three distinct company names still in use.

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