Orange announces that it has completed its acquisition of a controlling stake in the fixed operator, Telekom Romania Communications (TKR). The closing of this deal will give Orange Romania a 54% controlling stake in one of Romania’s fixed telecom operators, with the remaining 46% stake retained by the Romanian State.
Orange has obtained approval from the relevant authorities to enable it to complete the transaction for an enterprise value as previously stated of €497 million, based on 100% of TKR and its convergent customer base. This corresponds to an equity consideration of €296m.
This successful transaction will now herald the acceleration of Orange’s strategy to be the preferred convergent services provider in Romania, with a firm commitment from Orange to pursue its investments in the Romanian telecommunications sector. Thanks to this acquisition, Orange, as the mobile operator in Romania and now with the combined strength of TKR’s fixed network, will create a fully fixed and mobile convergent operator across Consumer, Business and ICT markets.
TKR is Romania’s player in fixed telecoms with revenues of €633m reported in 2020. Through its owned network infrastructure, TKR provides fixed voice, broadband and pay-tv services to around five million customers and its approximately 90,000 km fibre network connects almost three million households. It also provides convergent services to close to 916,000 fixed-mobile convergent subscribers, as at 30 June 2021 through an MVNO contract with Telekom Romania Mobile. These customers will be migrated to Orange Romania’s network in due course shortly, following the completion of the transaction.
Both companies will continue to operate as two separate legal entities. Liudmila Climoc will continue her responsibilities as CEO of Orange Romania. The TKR board of directors has appointed Mr. Andrei Popovici, as CEO of TKR.
Mari-Noelle Jego-Laveissiere, deputy CEO, in charge of Orange in Europe, comments, “It is a landmark day for Orange as this acquisition will propel Orange Romania forward in its convergence ambitions. Convergence is the key to our growth across Europe, and Romania is a key part of the Group’s European success story.”
Liudmila Climoc, CEO, Orange Romania, comments, “We are part of a defining moment not only for Orange, but for the entire telecoms market in Romania. I am very proud that Orange Romania and TKR teams have reached this point. We now move forward together, as a joint force and with a common goal to be the first choice for convergent services in Romania. Together, we will build for our customers a complete offer with extended fixed coverage, mobile services from Orange, including expanding 5G coverage, more varied TV content and ICT solutions that support the digital transformation of businesses and public administrations.”
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