Already the leader in France, Orange will become number 2 in telecoms in Spain! The European Union gives it the green light

The European Commission has authorized Orange and Spanish telecommunications company MasMovil to create a joint venture. It thus opens the way to the birth of an operator which will directly compete with the leader Movistar in Spain.

Orange announced on Tuesday February 20 that it had received the green light from the European Commission for its joint venture project initiated with MasMovil, the company which owns the Spanish mobile operator Yoigo, the fourth in the Iberian country. Together, the two companies will form a new entity, the second most powerful on the market in Spain, just behind Movistar. The transaction is expected to be finalized before the end of March 2024.

Orange will give birth to number 2 in Spanish telecoms, a tour de force

The joint venture built by Orange and MasMovil will be called “LORCA JVCO”. As soon as it is put on the market, it will become the second largest telecom power in Spain, with 7.3 million landline customers, 30 million mobile customers and 2.2 million TV customers. Its turnover is already estimated at 7.4 billion euros, in its first year of activity.

LORCA JVCO will combine the strengths of the two operators, creating a more powerful player, while consolidating a telecoms market which, in Spain, has one more player on mobile than in France, for a number of customers who are demographically lower. .

Together, Orange and MasMovil will be able to ensure optimal fixed and mobile network coverage in Spain. Fiber optic networks (FttH) and 4G/5G will be their priority.

Concessions had to be made to obtain approval from the European Commission

It still took many months of negotiations with the European Commission to reach a final agreement, validated by Brussels. To obtain it, Orange and MasMovil agreed to cede 60 MHz of frequencies to the Little Thumb of operators, Digi, which had 4 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2023, far behind Yoigo, Vodafone then Orange.

In addition, both partners had to commit to the European Union to offer an optional national roaming agreement at market prices.

Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, welcomed the green light from the European Commission, stressing that this joint venture would create “ a unique, powerful and sustainable player for Spanish customers “. Meinrad Spenger, boss of MASMOVIL, welcomed the company’s major role in the Spanish telecoms sector, expressing commitment to a trusted service. The two executives confirmed that until the closure of the operator, the companies would still operate independently, excluding their respective assets TOTEM Spain and MASMOVIL Portugal from the transaction.