French incumbent Orange is looking to boost its 40% stake in Morocco’s Meditel in order to get a controlling interest.
Orange CEO Stephane Richard told Les Echos in a video interview that the company is planning to consolidate its position in Morocco,…
French incumbent Orange is looking to boost its 40% stake in Morocco’s Meditel in order to get a controlling interest.
Orange CEO Stephane Richard told Les Echos in a video interview that the company is planning to consolidate its position in Morocco, as well as in Iraq where it owns 46% of number three Korek Telecom, by 2015.
The objective is to reach around 300 million subscribers outside of France by the end of next year.
The Moroccan mobile market is proving particularly attractive at the moment, as demonstrated by Etisalat’s recent acquisition of a majority stake in the country’s incumbent, Maroc Telecom, for €4.1bn.
And recently Scott Gegenheimer, CEO of Zain, told TelecomFinance that his company seeks to increase its 15.5% holding in Inwi, the smallest of all three players.
“The business is doing very well, having garnered a 28.8% GSM market share as of December 2013. Increasing our stake in the Inwi business will give us access to a large licensed population of 42 million,” Gegenheimer said (see TelecomFinance Magazine 223/May 2014).
While Orange hopes to gain momentum in its most profitable markets, it is also exiting certain African investments.
The operator recently sold its Ugandan unit to Africell and is currently reviewing options for its struggling Kenyan subsidiary.
