Orange completes Telekom Romania acquisition

Orange has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Romanian fixed-line operator Telekom Romania Communications from Deutsche Telekom-backed Greek telco OTE.

Orange is taking a 54% stake in the operator, leaving 46% in the hands of its other main shareholder, the Romanian state.

The completion of the deal follows authorisation from regulators. The agreement placed an enterprise value of agreement placed an enterprise value of €497 million on the Romanian telco, with Orange’s equity stake amounting to €297 million.

Orange said the agreement would enable it to combine its mobile strength with Telekom Romania’s fixed network to create a converged player in the residential, business and ICT markets.

Telekom Romania provides fixed phone, broadband and TV services to about five million customers, and its fibre network now passes three million homes. The company also serves 916,000 fixed-mobile convergence customers thanks to an MVNO agreement with Telekom Romania Mobile, which is not part of this deal.

As a result of the ownership structure, Orange and Telekom Romania will continue to operate as separate corporate entities. Liudmila Climoc will continue as CEO of Orange Romania, while Andrei Popovici has been named as CEO of Telekom Romania Communications.

Climoc said that the agreement would enable Orange to become the leading converged player in the market, “integrating an extended fixed coverage, mobile services on Orange’s network, notably in our fast-expanding 5G network, more varied TV content  and ICT solutions to support the digital transformation of enterprises and public administration”.

Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, Orange’s head of activities in Europe outside France, said that the deal would enable the company to accelerate its convergence ambitions, which she said were “the key to our growth in Europe, and Romania is an essential part of the group’s success in this area”.

OTE chairman and CEO Michael Tsamaz said that the company’s exit from Romania’s fixed line market would enable it to focus on its infrastructure rollout in Greece. The company remains active in Romania through its ownership of Telekom Romania Mobile.