Press release: European Commission green lights Orange and MASMOVIL Joint Venture, paving the way for a single, stronger operator in Spain
February 20 2024 - 1:57PM
Press release: European Commission green lights Orange and MASMOVIL
Joint Venture, paving the way for a single, stronger operator in
Spain
Press ReleaseParis
and Madrid, 20 February 2024
European Commission green lights Orange and
MASMOVIL Joint Venture, paving the way for a single, stronger
operator in Spain
- This favourable decision takes into
account the specificities of the highly competitive Spanish market,
with balanced remedies in favour of an already existing
player.
- Orange and MASMOVIL plan to complete
the transaction by end Q1 2024.
- This deal paves the way for the
creation of a joint company that combines the forces of Orange and
MASMOVIL into a single, stronger operator focussed on customer
satisfaction and positive impact, with the scale to invest in 5G
and fiber, benefiting the market, consumers and businesses across
Spain.
Orange and MASMOVIL have today received clearance from the
European Commission to combine their operations in Spain1. As
previously stated on July 23rd 2022, the combined activities of
Orange Spain and MASMOVIL will take the form of a 50-50 joint
venture, co-controlled by Orange and MASMOVIL (LORCA JVCO), with
equal governance rights in the combined entity.
This Joint Venture between MASMOVIL and Orange will create a
leading operator of the Spanish market in terms of customers, user
experience, talent, fiber and mobile coverage and a sustainable
player with the financial capacity to continue investing in the
development of a leading telecom infrastructure in Spain.
Both parties would convert into a leading operator, bringing
together the assets, capabilities and teams of the two companies in
Spain to serve +7.3M fixed customers, +30M mobile services and
+2.2M TV customers2. The Joint Venture would manage important
network and IT assets to assure a nationwide coverage both in FTTH
as well as 4G/5G. In financial terms, the combined entity would
become a stronger and solid market player with estimated revenues
of above €7.4 billion and EBITDAaL of over €2.3 billion, with an
enterprise value of €18.6 billion and expected synergies of more
than €450m per year (from year four post-closing).
As part of its proposed package of remedies, the parties have
agreed to divest to Digi as remedy taker 60MHz of spectrum assets
(pending approval from the Spanish Government) and to propose an
optional national roaming agreement at market conditions.
Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, commented: “Today’s
announcement is a crucial moment for the future development of the
Group in Europe. Our proposed Joint Venture with MASMOVIL will
create a single, stronger, and more sustainable player in Spain. By
joining forces, we can scale, we can innovate, and we can drive
investment in Spain for the benefit of consumers and
businesses.”
Meinrad Spenger, CEO of MASMOVIL, commented: “All good things
are worth waiting for! We are thrilled to assume a relevant role in
the Spanish telecommunication sector. Our exceptional team is
committed to forming a unified and distinctive company capable of
delivering positive impact and providing a trustful service to the
most satisfied clients in Spain.”
Until all closing conditions are satisfied, which is expected by
the end of this first quarter in 2024, the two companies will
continue to operate independently.
About MASMOVIL GroupMASMOVIL Group is one of
the most outstanding operators in Spain in terms of growth over the
last few years and offers fiber, mobile, TV, and other new services
such as energy, health, alarms, or financial services, for
residential customers, businesses, and operators. The Group offers
its customers access to the largest FTTH coverage in Spain with
more than 29 million marketable households and 3G, 4G and 5G mobile
networks to 98.5% of the Spanish population thanks to its hybrid
strategy combining its own and third parties infrastructures.
MASMOVIL has also launched its 5G services, which are already
available in more than 2,200 cities in Spain. The Group has close
to 16M customers by the end of the first nine months of 2023.Grupo
MASMOVIL has been awarded on several occasions as the best
broadband and fibre optic operator.MASMOVIL has achieved net zero
carbon emissions for scopes 1 and 2 in 2020 and in 2021 -including
the Euskaltel Group in the calculation-, positioning it as the
first telecommunications operator in Europe to achieve such an
achievement and the one with the lowest absolute residual level of
emissions. It is the first telecommunications operator in Europe to
become a B Corp company and has a strong commitment to creating a
positive environmental and social impact. MASMOVIL Group is also
leading sustainability and ESG in Spain achieving 5 ESG ratings in
a short period of time with very high standings from prestigious
organizations as S&P, Morning Star Sustainalytics, Sustainable
Fitch, CDP and Clarity.MASMOVIL is participated by Cinven, KKR and
Providence Equity Partners since November 2020.Follow us:MASMOVIL
Group
website: https://www.grupomasmovil.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/grupomasmovil
About OrangeOrange is one of the world’s leading
telecommunications operators with revenues of 44.1 billion euros in
2023 and 137,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2023, including
73,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of
298 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2023, including 254
million mobile customers and 25 million fixed broadband customers.
The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading
provider of global IT and telecommunication services to
multinational companies under the brand Orange Business. In
February 2023, the Group presented its strategic plan "Lead the
Future", built on a new business model and guided by responsibility
and efficiency. "Lead the Future" capitalizes on network excellence
to reinforce Orange's leadership in service quality.Orange is
listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock
Exchange (symbol ORAN).For more information on the internet and on
your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com and the Orange
News app or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.Orange and any
other Orange product or service names included in this material are
trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.
Orange press contacts:Tom Wright;
tom.wright@orange.comVanessa Clarke; vanessa.clarke@orange.com
1 The contemplated transaction does not include notably TOTEM
Spain and MASMOVIL Portugal2 Mobile services in Spain includes
prepaid, contract and mobile broadband voice and data packages
- PR_Orange_Masmovil_clearance_200224_EN
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