Vivendi is in talks over a multibillion-euro merger of its huge SFR telecoms unit with Numericable, a move that will see France's second-largest mobile phone operator link up with one with of the country's top cable providers. Talks are still at an early stage with SFR valued at some 15 billion euros and Numericable worth between four and five billion euros. Japanese mobile phone operator Softbank is looking to move into the lucrative US market after announcing it is to buy 70 per cent of Sprint Nextel for around 20 billion US dollars. The decision is designed to give Softbank a springboard into the US, which still shows signs of growth, while the Japanese domestic market is saturated. More about: SFR, Talks / negotiations, Telecommunication, Vivendi