Orange has held talks with several interested parties to discuss the partial sale of Jazztel’s fibre network, in a bid to gain regulatory approval for its purchase of the Spanish fixed-line player.Nicolas Laederich, an Orange executive who handles…
Orange has held talks with several interested parties to discuss the partial sale of Jazztel’s fibre network, in a bid to gain regulatory approval for its purchase of the Spanish fixed-line player.
Nicolas Laederich, an Orange executive who handles regulatory affairs and competition issues, told Reuters that the winning bidder would also be offered capacity on the company’s fixed network via a wholesale agreement.
He reportedly said that the Paris-based operator would sell 720,000 fibre connections that Jazztel had installed in five cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.
According to the executive, about 60% of the fibre connections overlap with Orange’s own network.
Orange was not immediately available for comment.
The European Commission is widely expected to approve Orange’s €3.4bn acquisition of Jazztel with remedies by its own 1 June deadline. A person familiar with the situation told TelecomFinance that the European regulator is likely to announce its decision next week.
Laederich pointed out that the concessions would not undermine the attractiveness of the Jazztel deal, the report said.
Potential buyers for the assets include regional cablecos Euskaltel and Telecable, as well as TeliaSonera-owned carrier Yoigo and MVNO MasMovil, which has been tipped as a favoured candidate, due to its experience in both mobile and fixed services and its smaller size.
Yesterday, Spanish markets and competition authority CNMC asked Orange to share its 4G network with MasMovil, which already rents capacity on Orange’s network, within ten days “as a preventive measure”.
Meanwhile, Yoigo CEO Eduardo Taulet said that, should its bid to acquire Orange’s assets fail, the company would be willing to negotiate with “those who have or will have [assets] to reach corporate or commercial agreements”, hinting at a potential deal with MasMovil.
The acquisition of Jazztel, first announced last September, would help Orange establish a presence in both fixed and mobile services to enable it to compete better against Vodafone, which acquired national cableco Ono last year.
