(Telecompaper) Orange is in early talks about acquiring French conglomerate Bouygues' telecom and media assets, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The potential deal would see the Bouygues conglomerate retain a minority stake in the combined telecom and media business, three people said. The tie-up is one of several possibilities being considered by Orange, which recently said it was assessing a European expansion. No formal decision has been made and Orange and Bouygues are considering how they could overcome regulatory and antitrust hurdles. In an e-mailed statement Bouygues said it "has no plans to withdraw from the telecoms and television sectors and reaffirms its long-term presence in these two industries." A spokesman for Orange told Bloomberg it would not comment on "rumours" that have "artificially" moved the market over the last two years.