France Telecom (FT) agreed to buy an 80 percent controlling stake in Spain's third-largest wireless carrier, Amena, in a €6.4 billion deal. As a result of the acquisition, France Telecom's wireless unit, Orange, will enter the market in Spain with 9.7 million subscribers. FT's CEO said that he expects FT's operations in Spain to attract more than 11.8 million subscribers by the end of the year. This deal makes Orange the second-largest carrier in Europe, ahead of T-Mobile and second only to Vodafone. FT also plans to integrate Amena's wireless business with FT's Internet service in Spain, Wanadoo, which claims 500,000 broadband subscribers.
For more on FT's deal for Amena:
- read this article from The Register