Orange’s subsidiary in the Dominican Republic is a disposal candidate as the French incumbent looks to reduce its €39bn debt pile and focus on its core markets.
According to Reuters, which cited seven people with knowledge of the situation, Orange…
Orange’s subsidiary in the Dominican Republic is a disposal candidate as the French incumbent looks to reduce its €39bn debt pile and focus on its core markets.
According to Reuters, which cited seven people with knowledge of the situation, Orange is talking to several banks and will likely appoint an adviser over the next few days to manage a sale of Orange Dominicana.
UK operator Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), Jamaica-based Digicel and Stockholm-listed Millicom as well as US and Latin American private equity firms could be interested in Orange Dominica, the report said citing the sources.
When contacted by TelecomFinance CWC, Digicel and Millicom all declined to comment on the suggestion.
Orange also declined to comment on the report, but said it continually looks at the performance of its business, its potential for growth, and at whether its strategy is coherant.
The unit could be sold for between €675m (US$886m) and €900m (US$1.18bn), an analyst cited by Reuters said.
Orange Dominicana is something of an outlier in Orange’s portfolio as it is its only operator in the Americas. The French group’s focus is on EMEA and it only has two businesses outside that area, in the Dominican Republic and Vanuatu.
Orange Dominicana generated US$544m revenue last year. It provides 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, and internet access.
It trails America Movil in the local market but has significantly more customers than smaller operators Tricom and Viva.
