(Telecompaper) Vivendi is preparing to spin off French phone operator SFR as well as considering the company's sale to cable provider Numericable, whose biggest backer is invesment fund Altice. Vivendi and Numericable have discussed a deal for several months, but could not come to agreement on valuation. Bloomberg writes that SFR is valued at EUR 12 billion. The operator had 5.2 million broadband subscribers (xDSL, fibre) at the end of September 2012. Numericable had 1.7 million (co-ax, fibre). SFR also had 21.2 million mobile clients at the same date. .