Orange closes Cellcom Liberia acquisition

French incumbent Orange has completed its acquisition of 100% of mobile operator Cellcom Liberia via its Orange Cote d’Ivoire subsidiary, as the company aims to strengthen its positions in Africa. Orange said in a statement that Liberia is now the 20^th country in Africa and the Middle East to join its group.

French incumbent Orange (EPA:ORA) has completed its acquisition of 100% of mobile operator Cellcom Liberia via its Orange Cote d’Ivoire subsidiary, as the company aims to strengthen its positions in Africa.

Orange said in a statement that Liberia is now the 20^th country in Africa and the Middle East to join its group.

The deal value has not been disclosed and Orange was not immediately available to comment.

The transaction was first announced on 12 January. Shortly after, Orange also agreed to buy Millicom’s operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo for US$160m and said it would purchase businesses in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone from Bharti Airtel.

It has separately agreed to sell its 70% stake in Telkom Kenya to private equity firm Helios, a deal which may reportedly be complicated by government demands.

A few days ago, the French operator spent €75m (US$85.3m) for an equity interest in Nigeria-based Africa Internet Group.

Following the collapsed talks to acquire Bouygues Telecom at the weekend, Orange CEO Stéphane Richard said his company would continue to seek opportunities to consolidate, enter new markets in Europe as well as expand in Africa and the Middle East.

As of December 2015, Cellcom Liberia had 1.4 million customers. Liberia, which has a population of 4.3 million, is home to four mobile operators. The mobile penetration rate in the country is 66%, which is lower than in some neighboring countries, Orange noted.

Africa-focused ECP Private Equity, which also holds stakes in East African cableco Wananchi, IHS Towers and Airtel Gabon, acquired Cellcom Telecommunications in 2007, the owner of Cellcom Liberia and Cellcom Guinea.