OFFICIAL Orange announced that it has signed the acquisition of the majority stake of 54% of the shares of the former Romtelecom at a price of 268 million euros – Telecom

Telekom Romania Communications (formerly Romtelecom) is the second largest player in the market for fixed telecommunications services in Romania., with a turnover of 622 million euros, reported in 2019.

Through its network infrastructure, Telekom Romania offers fixed telephony, broadband internet and television services for 5 million customers, while 90,000 km of fiber optic network connect about 3 million homes. It also offers converged fixed-mobile services for approximately 881,000 customers, as of June 30, 2020, following an MVNO contract with Telekom Romania Mobile. These customers will migrate to the Orange Romania mobile network after completing the transaction.

Orange Romania recorded a turnover of 1.1 billion euros in 2019 and is the largest communications operator in Romania. Thanks to this acquisition, Orange will accelerate its convergent services development strategy which, by integrating TKR’s fixed network, will strengthen its converged communications infrastructure, which will serve the B2C, B2B and IT&C markets.

• “This acquisition is an important step to accelerate our convergent strategy in Europe. Romania is a key market for Orange and a remarkable success story. The transaction confirms our long-term commitment to the Romanian market. Our goal is to contribute to the development of the sector of telecommunications through constant investments in high-performance network infrastructures and innovative services, ”said Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, Deputy CEO of Orange in Europe.

The resulting entity will aim to become the clients’ preferred choice for convergent services in the Romanian market, both for the commercial segment and for the consumer. The transaction will also generate significant synergies, as a result of the combined sale of services to existing customers, as well as network optimizations, including economies of scale.

• “This is an important moment for the Romanian telecommunications market, which will increase its attractiveness both in terms of converged telecommunications services and high-quality infrastructure, while increasing competition. This transaction will bring new opportunities for the development of convergent services, with more benefits and a wider range of options for clients, but also for the sustainable development of the digital economy. The complementarity of the two networks will allow us to unite not only clients and teams, but also the best experience in terms of quality of service and a fixed and mobile network infrastructure prepared for the challenges of the future ”, said Liudmila Climoc, CEO. Orange Romania.

The conclusion of the transaction is subject to the usual preconditions, in particular the approval of the transaction by the European Commission and other competent authorities, and It is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. Until the approval and completion of the transaction, both companies will continue to operate independently.