Telecom company Orange has decided to sell its majority stake in Orange Uganda to West African mobile operator Africell Holding for an undisclosed amount
Ziad Dalloul, chairman and CEO of Africell Group, said, ”Uganda, with a population of more than 37 million and a penetration rate of 50 per cent, was well within the criteria we had set to further expand in Africa targeting high potential and high growth markets.”
The company added that it would be looking to add one more market to its portfolio before the end of 2015 to diversify its coverage across western, central, and eastern Africa. Africell Holding currently has more than nine million active subscribers and is expected to reach 11mn by the end of 2014 in Africa.
The transaction is subject to approval from the relevant authorities. Meanwhile, Orange officials revealed that the sale was part of a ”regular review of its portfolio of assets”.
A spokesperson for Orange said, ”In the case of Uganda, a review was recently carried out that led the group to conclude that after six years of operations, the subsidiary had not met the group’s criteria in terms of operational performance and value creation. The sale will enable the company in Uganda to continue its development.” The company added that it would be carrying out similar reviews in Kenya as well.
Orange Uganda was created in 2008, becoming the country's third telecom operator and had 620,000 clients at the end of December 2013.
