The boards of Orange and Bouygues are meeting separately today in an attempt to agree the sale of Bouygues Telecom, ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.

According to Bloomberg, boards from both Orange and Bouygues are due to vote on the deal later today in separate meetings, but hurdles remain with sources stating the talks could also still end in failure.

The complex nature of the tie-up has led to unresolved questions, including financial terms, adds Reuters. A deal is likely to see some of Bouygues Telecom assets also sold to French rivals, Iliad and Numericable SFR, in a bid to avoid antitrust issues.

Bouygues could also become the second largest shareholder in Orange, after the French state, which currently holds 23 per cent in the operator. The companies however are still reportedly struggling to agree what size stake Bouygues will get as part of the deal.

Talks have been ongoing for months, and the proposed tie-up could see Bouygues Telecom valued at approximately €10 billion.

The end goal of the complicated arrangement looks to be a reduction in the number of operator’s in the country from four to three.

We’ve worked a lot this past week end but there remains certain elements to discuss,” a source told Reuters.