Orange facing major conditions for Jazztel green light

Orange in Spain will be forced to make all homes connected to Jazztel’s ADSL network available to rivals at a regulated price and sell on part of its high-speed fibre addressable base to a rival player to secure EC approval of its €3.4 billion acquisition of the alternative operator, according to local reports.

According to newspaper El País, citing unnamed sources close to the process, Orange will be forced to sell on 700,000 out of a total of 3.7 million homes attached to its fibre network to a rival to secure approval of the deal, as well as making the entire ADSL base available at a regulated wholesale rate.

Orange reportedly has until June 25 to name a candidate to take over part of the fibre network. According to El País, if it fails to do so, of if the EC judges that the chosen buyer does not meet certain criteria, it can place the assets under the control of a third-party trustee  to dispose of them at a later date.

TeliaSonera-owned Yoigo and private equity-backed Másmovil have been named as possible acquirers. Yoigo has confirmed that it is interested in acquiring a fixed network to complement it existing mobile assets.

Separately, Vodafone España has initiated the process of restructuring its operations, folding all the former entities associated with cable arm Ono into the parent organisation, according to local reports.

Vodafone has eliminated companies including Ono Midco SA and Spanish Cable Holding SA with a view to reducing costs and simplifying its structure, according to the reports. Cableuropa, an important vehicle in financing Ono’s operations over the years, has been renamed Vodafone Ono SA.