European telecom company Orange is planning to sell 50 percent of its stake in its fixed fiber venture Orange Concessions in France to La Banque des Territoires, media reports said. In France, Orange has been working with local authorities to deploy the infrastructure under public initiative contracts.
Orange Concessions is valued at €2.675 billion. The deal, which is expected to close by the end of this year, includes a call option that will allow the Paris-headquartered company to take control and consolidate Orange Concessions in the future.
Stephane Richard, chairman and chief executive at Orange told the media, “To pursue the development of fiber in rural areas by winning new public initiative networks or by participating in market consolidation.”
“I am delighted that Orange is now set to establish this partnership in its domestic market with recognized investors who share our vision of digital communication infrastructure development. This is a key milestone in the delivery of our Engage 2025 strategic plan. As to its financial merits, the achieved valuation reveals the value of Orange’s investments in fiber as well as the relevance of such strategic move.”
Orange Cyberdefense, the cybersecurity unit of Orange Group announced the appointment of Clive Hamilton as its new managing director (MD) in October last year. Clive Hamilton joined Orange after spending more than 13 years at NTT Europe, where has also served as its managing director. He has 30 years of global ICT experience in network, cloud, datacentre, security and voice services.