Multinational telco Altice has completed its takeover of Orange’s mobile unit in the Dominican Republic.
Altice agreed to buy Orange Dominicana last November for US$1.4bn.
The closing of the deal follows regulatory approval by Indotel earlier this…
Multinational telco Altice has completed its takeover of Orange’s mobile unit in the Dominican Republic.
Altice agreed to buy Orange Dominicana last November for US$1.4bn.
The closing of the deal follows regulatory approval by Indotel earlier this week.
Altice financed the deal with a US$1.7bn high-yield bond issued in December and split between two tranches.
Orange Dominicana has 3.3 million mobile subscribers and generated US$616m in revenue last year and EBITDA of US$239m.
Last month, Altice closed the acquisition of triple-play provider Tricom, which also operates in the Republic.
Altice said the deal “fits perfectly with [its] strategy of combining both fixed and mobile assets in order to offer quadruple-play services over state-of-the-art communication networks”.
The telco already operates pay-TV, broadband and mobile services in the region as it owns units in French Guyana, Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Lazard was financial adviser to Altice on the acquisition while Credit Suisse and boutique Messier Maris advised Orange.
The French incumbent began a sale process of Orange Dominicana, which was its only operator in the Americas, in early 2013. The disposal was part of the group’s asset portfolio optimization strategy that was announced in 2011.
According to Altice, Orange Dominicana and Tricom have a combined total subscriber base of approximately 4 million. It is allowed to keep using the Orange brand as part of the deal.
Altice has operations in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Switzerland, Israel, a number of French Overseas Territories, and the Dominican Republic.
Altice made its first acquisition in 2002 and says it has completed 20 deals overall, including 13 in the last five years. Its latest move has been to acquire French mobile operator SFR from Vivendi. After a bidding war with rival Bouygues, Altice emerged victorious at the weekend with a bid valued at €17bn including expected synergies.
