Iliad Group founder Xavier Niel AFP via Getty ImagesBillionaire Xavier Niel has announced plans to take his Iliad telecom group private in a move that has sent his fortune soaring. The proposal sent the stock up 61% on the Euronext Paris, boosting Niel’s net worth by $3 billion as of Friday afternoon, to an estimated $10.4 billion. Iliad has since become a giant in European telecoms, with 15,000 employees, 42.7 million subscribers and $7 billion in revenues in 2020. Its Free subsidiary is France’s second largest supplier of home internet and one of the country’s most popular mobile phone providers. There are other signs that Free, as a technology company and market leader, is experiencing growing pains.

Source: Forbes July 30, 2021 16:07 UTC