Orange finalises acquisition of last Jazztel shares

Orange announced it has completed its €3.4 billion ($3.7 billion) acquisition of Spanish operator Jazztel by acquiring the remaining 5.25 per cent of Jazztel's share capital.

Under a 'squeeze out' process, the France-based operator acquired the remaining shares in Jazztel, bringing its ownership to 100 per cent. The squeeze out was carried out for €13 per share, the same price as the main offer, and Orange will now de-list Jazztel from the Spanish Stock Exchange.

Orange said. "This transaction results from the exercise of the squeeze-out rights ensuing from Orange's successful tender offer on Jazztel".

The French operator paid €3.179 billion for the original offer for Jazztel and an additional €176 million for the remaining shares.

Orange stated just over a week ago that its Spanish unit would be increasing prices for its mobile and fixed line bundles from the end of September by €2 per month, Reuters reported. Reuters said this move follows from similar action taken by competitors in the Spanish market, Telefonica and Vodafone.

Orange Spain already sells converged bundles of fixed and mobile services under Orange Kangaroo, and in future will hope to improve its standing in a market with a strong heritage in multi-play strategies.

It will raise its Kangaroo Savings and Kangaroo No Limits tariffs while at the same time increasing the data allowance by 500Mb, a company spokesman told Reuters.

The Spanish Securities Commission (CNMV) gave the green light for Orange to pursue its bid to buy Jazztel in late May. The France-based operator had already won approval from the European Commission (EC) for the proposed deal after agreeing to certain conditions, including the sale of a fibre network in Spain representing 720,000 homes.

Through the Jazztel acquisition, Orange has previously said it aims to create the second-largest fixed-line broadband operator and "one of the most dynamic players in the mobile segment in Spain", in an effort to drive customer take-up of convergent offers. The transaction is also expected to generate cost savings of around €1.3 billion for the future combined entity, in particular thanks to savings in operational expenditure and investments in networks.

For more:
- see this Orange release
- see this Reuters article

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