French incumbent Orange is reportedly mulling the possibility of hiving off its African and Middle Eastern operations.
An IPO of these assets would enable Orange, which is present in almost 20 countries in those two regions, to free up cash to reduce…
French incumbent Orange is reportedly mulling the possibility of hiving off its African and Middle Eastern operations.
An IPO of these assets would enable Orange, which is present in almost 20 countries in those two regions, to free up cash to reduce its debt, which stood at €27.4bn as of June, and explore acquisitions, according to multiple reports.
As considerations are still at an early stage, details and timing have yet to be decided, a spokesperson was quoted as saying. Orange did not respond to a request for comment.
The French group recently sold its under-performing Ugandan subsidiary and has launched a strategic review for its struggling Kenyan unit.
Separately, a local report yesterday suggested that Orange has started the process of increasing its 40% stake in Morocco’s Meditel to 49%, as agreed under its 2010 shareholder agreement. The stake increase could become effective from January 2015.
Orange has also been busy in Europe. It recently made a €3.4bn (US$4.4bn) bid for Spanish fixed-line operator Jazztel in an effort to bolster its position in the highly-competitive local market.
Orange, which owns Spain’s third-largest mobile operator, estimates the combined entity would generate up to €1.3bn in global synergies, largely due to savings in operational expenditure and network investments.
