Orange Plans To Launch Bid To Buy Remaining Stake In Orange Belgium

(RTTNews) - French telecom major Orange SA announced its plans to launch a conditional public takeover bid to acquire all the shares of Orange Belgium that it does not yet own.

In response, Orange Belgium said its Board will meet as soon as possible to take note and examine the content of the offer in accordance with the legal provisions.

Orange would make a cash offer, without any minimum acceptance threshold, at a price of 22 euros per share.

The offer price represents a premium of 35.6% compared to the closing price of Orange Belgium on December 2 and a premium of 49.3% compared to the volume-weighted average trading price of Orange Belgium over the last six months.

If the conditions are met, Orange will consider a possible delisting of the shares of Orange Belgium that is trading on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels.

With the purchase, the company aims to strengthen its position in order to allow Orange Belgium to more efficiently deploy its strategy for long-term value creation and to react more effectively to major transformations in the Belgian market through greater financial flexibility.