Orange is MasMovil, the fourth Spanish operator, have signed an agreement for the regrouping of their activities in Spain, after entering into exclusive negotiations last March.
The transaction is based on an enterprise value of 18.6 billion euros, of which 7.8 billion euros for Orange Spain and 10.9 billion euros for MasMovil.
In practice, this will take the form of a 50-50 joint venture between the two operators. The agreement also includes, for each of the two parties, to trigger an introduction after a predefined period and under certain conditions, specifies a press release.
This consolidation in Spain will allow “the emergence of a sustainable player with the financial capacity and scale necessary to continue investing and contributing to the development of infrastructure competition in Spain to the profile of consumers and businesses. » declare the two partners.
The transaction is expected to be finalized next year
The operation should allow Orange to recover its health on the Spanish market, where the operator suffered a severe setback in 2021. As a reminder, the revenues of the Spanish branch of Orange fell by 2.1% in the second quarter of 2021, compared to -7.4% in the first quarter.
“This new operator will be stronger and able to invest in 5G and Fiber for the benefit of customers across Spain,” commented Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange.
“With Orange, we plan to form a strong operator with a sustainable profile and the ability to invest in world-class infrastructure, technology and talent. We expect this to drive competition, digitalization and innovation in the Spanish market,” said Meinrad Spenger, Managing Director of MasMovil.
The transaction is also accompanied by a non-recourse debt raising of 6.6 billion euros which will finance, among other things, a payment of 5.85 billion euros paid upfront to the Orange group and the shareholders of MasMovil. . This transaction remains subject to the approval of the competent competition authorities. It should be finalized “in the second half of 2023 at the latest”.