French incumbent Orange (EPA: ORA) has bought an additional 9% stake in Moroccan telco Meditel, boosting its holding to 49%.
Orange will now appoint five of Meditel’s nine board members, while Moroccan shareholders will appoint the remaining four,…
French incumbent Orange (EPA: ORA) has bought an additional 9% stake in Moroccan telco Meditel, boosting its holding to 49%.
Orange will now appoint five of Meditel’s nine board members, while Moroccan shareholders will appoint the remaining four, Orange said in a statement.
The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Orange is working to boost its Middle East and Africa portfolio, now a separate legal entity. Last week, it announced that it is in talks to buy four of India-based Bharti Airtel’s Francophone African units: in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone. Orange CFO Ramon Fernandez has said the MEA portfolio’s new structure will make it easier to carry out M&A, partnerships and possible sales.
Meditel, which provides fixed and mobile services and has a fibre optic network stretching more than 5,400km, will now be fully consolidated within the Paris-based telco’s financial statements.
Orange said the purchase, which has received necessary approvals from public authorities and the regulator, is in line with its development strategy outside Europe and plans to reinforce its presence in the Middle East and Africa.
According to Orange, Meditel has more than 13 million mobile subscribers, giving it a 31% market share. The telco reported revenues of €503m for 2014, EBITDA of €170m and an operating cash flow of €66m. Meditel launched 4G services in June and plans to complete an overhaul of its mobile network this year, extending its 3G coverage to 95% of the population.
Orange CEO Stephane Richard provoked a diplomatic row last month, when he told journalists in Cairo that he wanted to cut ties with Israel to improve relations in the company’s increasingly important Arab markets. Egyptian opposition groups had threatened a boycott of Orange-owned cellco Mobinil, because of its links to Partner.
Partner has a 28% market share in Israel, which has a population of around eight million. Mobinil, for its part, has 34 million customers in Egypt.
Following Richard’s remarks, Orange and Partner have decided to review their brand licence agreement.
