Orange-MásMóvil JV begins operations

Orange and MásMóvil have completed the creation of their 50:50 Spanish JV, which has now begun operating.

Orange and MásMóvil shareholders each own a 50% stake of the JV, with equal governance rights.

The pair said the new company is now expected to generate synergies of more than €490 million per year by the fourth year after closing. The respective proceeds at closing are expected to be approximately €4.4 billon for Orange and approximately €1.65 billion for MásMóvil shareholders.

The two Spanish companies will now operate as a single entity.

Jean François Fallacher, CEO of Orange France, has been named non-executive chairman of the new company. He was previously CEO of Orange Spain between September 2020 and April 2023.

Spenger to serve as CEO

The JV’s board has also confirmed the appointment of Meinrad Spenger, CEO of MásMóvil since 2006, as CEO, and Alberto Castañeda as Secretary of the board of directors. Ludovic Pech and Germán López have also been confirmed as CFO and COO, respectively.

“It is a huge honour and an enormous responsibility to serve our more than 30 million customers in Spain. We are going to try hard to ensure that they continue to be the most satisfied clients in our country. With our JV, the Spanish telecom market has now a stronger company with the capacity to innovate and invest and to serve our clients in the residential and business segment as their trustful partner,” said Spenger.

Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, said “Today’s announcement is an important stepping-stone in the deployment of Orange’s long-term strategic plan in Europe. By creating a stronger and more sustainable player, the joint venture launched today will help drive innovation and investment in high-speed broadband and digital services in Spain. This is clearly a positive step forward in our overall vision for a strong and thriving telecoms industry in Europe.”