Armenian fibre-optic network operator Ucom has acquired 100% of mobile operator Orange Armenia from Orange (EPA:ORA) after the French incumbent decided to exit the market.
Orange and Ucom entered exclusive discussions on 22 July and Rothschild…
Armenian fibre-optic network operator Ucom has acquired 100% of mobile operator Orange Armenia from Orange (EPA:ORA) after the French incumbent decided to exit the market.
Orange and Ucom entered exclusive discussions on 22 July and Rothschild advised Orange on the sale, while Dechert provided it with legal advice. Ucom was advised by EY.
The agreement has been submitted to the relevant Armenian regulatory and antitrust authorities for approval and could close by the end of Q3.
Having set out a European fixed/mobile convergence strategy, the Paris-based group decided that Orange Armenia lacks the scale to invest independently in fixed-line services.
Orange did not say how much Yerevan-headquartered Ucom had paid for the business, which had 630,000 customers and 500 employees at the end of 2014.
Ucom has already acquired 4G spectrum and is planning to launch an LTE network at the beginning of 2016. In 2013 it paid AMD6.2bn (US$15m) for a mobile licence in the 801-811 MHz and 842-852 MHz bands, valid until 2018, in a bid to become the country’s fourth mobile operator after VivaCell-MTS, Vimpelcom-owned Beeline and Orange.
Ucom-Orange Armenia is set to become the country’s first telco to offer fixed-mobile convergent bundles.
