Orange Belgium announces deal to acquire 75% minus one share of VOO

Orange Belgium has announced an agreement with Nethys to acquire 75% minus one share in VOO SA.

VOO is a telco that owns the cable network in the Walloon region and part of the Brussels region. It offers fixed and mobile services, along with broadband and pay TV.

Orange said that the acquisition will provide the company with a “very high-speed network” in VOO’s service areas, and that it represents the latest step in its FTTH rollout investment plan.

VOO’s owner Nethys will retain a minority stake in the operator and its governance rights, while Orange Belgium has offered Nethys the possibility of converting its stake in VOO into Orange Belgium shares.

The deal gives VOO an enterprise value of €1.8 billion, with it expected to close in 2022 subject to customary conditions precedent, including the approval of the European Commission.

Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, EVP, Orange Europe Operations, said: “This acquisition reinforces Orange’s leadership in convergence in Europe and confirms the Group’s long-term commitment in Belgium. This operation is based on a strong industrial project, drawing on the complementary nature of Orange Belgium and VOO.”

Xavier Pichon, CEO of Orange Belgium, said: “25 years after the creation of Mobistar and 5 years after the launch of our first fixed-line offers, this operation reinforces the deployment of Orange Belgium’s convergent strategy at national level. Our investment plan will enable us to upgrade the network to multi-gigabit for the benefit of customers and the competitiveness of Wallonia and Brussels. The merger of Orange Belgium and VOO, two companies with highly complementary assets and skills, will benefit the employment and development of the employees of both companies.”