Orange Uganda has in an unprecedented move sent out a press release informing the public that it has been acquired by Africell. The move will see Orange get out of the Ugandan market after 6 years of not so promising results.
The statement sent out reads, “In the framework of a regular review of its portfolio of assets, today, the Orange Group announced that it has signed an agreement with Africell Holding for the sale of its majority stake in Orange Uganda. The transaction is subject to approval from the relevant authorities. It will enable the company in Uganda to continue its development.”
By the end of last year, Orange Uganda had over 620,000 subscribers to settle at position three behind rivals MTN and Airtel. The move to exit was mainly because Orange Uganda was no very profitable for its owner, France Telecom. For some time now, reports have indicated that Orange was planning to pull from certain African markets that were not so profitable. One such country is believed was to be Kenya and even though this has some shade of truth Orange Kenya went on the defensive and denied the allegations immediately.
By buying a majority stake in Orange Uganda, Africell which has operations in Gambia, Sierra Leone and DRC is looking for a way to get into the East African market. Africell currently has 7 Million subscribers and is looking to double that number to over 15 Million in the next 2 year. This will be helped through acquisitions of operators such as Orange Uganda and probably Orange Kenya.
Orange did not reveal any financial details of the acquisition.
