Orange Agrees To Sell Dominican Republic Unit To Altice For $1.435 Bln

(RTTNews) - French telecom major Orange SA (ORAN), previously France Telecom, announced Wednesday its agreement to sell Dominican Republic unit Orange Dominicana S.A. to Luxembourg-based cable and telecommunications company Altice VII S.à r.l. The enterprise value of the deal is $1.435 billion or 1.1 billion euros.

On November 24, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Orange is close to a deal with Altice. Orange had put the Dominican Republic unit for sale earlier this year and has said it attracted multiple bids.

Established in 2000, Orange Dominicana is a leading telecommunication operator in the Dominican Republic, which has an estimated population over 10 million. The company, which employs about 1,400 people, posted revenues of 451 million euros in 2012 and had 3.4 million subscribers at the end of September 2013.

Orange now said the transaction is subject to the approval of the Dominican Republic's competent authorities. The deal will be submitted to its Board of Directors for approval during the week commencing December 9.

Upon completion, the sale will represent a significant step forward in the optimization of Orange's assets portfolio as announced in 2011.

Orange is focusing on reducing its footprint in non-core markets and also cut down on costs. Orange Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard has said that he plans to focus on bolstering the company's presence in emerging markets, especially in Africa and the Middle East, and exit slower-growing European markets.

In late October, Orange reported a decline in the restated third-quarter EBITDA, a key earnings metric, despite cost reductions efforts. Consolidated revenues were hurt by lower results at its core markets of France and Poland, while Spain registered a growth.

Altice, which is the largest shareholder in French cable operator Numericable Group, in October said it agreed to acquire Tricom SA and Global Interlink Ltd., a triple-play and wireless operator in the Dominican Republic, from Hispaniola Telecom Holdings Ltd.

In Paris, Orange shares are currently trading at 9.55 euros, up 0.02 euros or 0.18 percent.