French cable operator Numericable hopes to raise €8.4 billion towards the cost of its proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in SFR, the country’s second-largest mobile operator.

The fundraising today (23 April) could be the largest junk-bond sale in history, according to The Wall Street Journal. It is $2 billion more than originally planned.

Numericable’s parent Altice emerged as the winner in the battle for SFR when its offer was chosen by Vivendi ahead of rival Bouygues.

Altice offered €13.5 billion in cash and a 20 per cent stake for Vivendi in the merged Numericable-SFR entity. The total value of the winning bid is expected to reach more than €17 billion.

Under pressure from Bouygues, Altice increased its offer from €11.75 billion in cash, although it did reduce the 32 per cent equity stake in the merged entity previously offered.

The current record junk-bond sale is held by another telecoms industry operator, US operator Sprint. But its sale raised considerably less ($6.5 billion) than that planned by Numericable.

Altice is also is trying to raise about €4 billion from an eight-year bond this week to fund the same purchase.