The company was founded by Francis Bouygues in 1952. In 1970 Bouygues became listed on the
Paris Stock Exchange. later reorganised as
Colas Group. In 1987 the company started operating the television channel
TF1 In 2010, through its subsidiary Nerem Telecom, Bouygues also acquired HGT Telecom for $170 million from Henri Benezra and his brother Avi. In 2014, consecutively to
Alstom's cession of its Energy activities to
General Electric, Bouygues granted a call option to the French government, allowing it to acquire a maximum of 20% of Alstom, currently owned by the group. In May 2018, the company purchased the Australian construction company A. W. Edwards. In December 2019, Bouygues became a shareholder in
Flying Whales, a French company developing rigid-structure
airships for heavy-lift transport as part of a consortium of industrial investors including
Groupe ADP and
Air Liquide. In 2021, Bouygues acquired the technical services business, Equans from
Engie in a transaction worth €7.1bn. ==Business structure==