José M. Rodríguez Silva
Updated Tuesday, March 26, 2024-14:37
PYR All the unknowns of the merger of Orange and MásMóvil: new name, how it will affect prices and caution in templates
Orange and MásMóvil have made effective this Wednesday, after two years of negotiation, their merger to become the telecommunications operator with the most customers in Spain, adding 37 million lines between broadband and fixed band.
The companies
will begin operating as a single entity
from today with the until now CEO of MásMóvil,
Meinrad Spenger
, occupying the same position in the company together and the CEO of Orange Spain,
Ludovic Pech
, as financial director.
The arrival of this new player
creates an unprecedented situation in the Spanish market
, since for the first time Telefónica is not the company with the most clients, although it comfortably maintains its leadership by revenue.
The new company will reveal its strategy and joint brand in the coming weeks and
will constitute 50% of the capital for each of the parties
. To achieve this union between equals and assume the 6,000 million euros of MásMóvil debt, a
dividend of 4,400 million euros
has been distributed
to the French company and 1,650 million euros to the shareholders of the until now fourth operator, although this distribution remains preliminary and could be altered.
The two parties will be able to execute
the option to go public once two years have passed after the closing of the merger
, although only Orange has the right to buy the majority of the firm, which is why it will not dedicate the 4.4 billion euros to distribute extraordinary dividends or reduce debt.
Among them, the
KKR, Providence and Cinven
funds stand out , although a minority part remains in the hands of the shareholders who have supported the group almost since its birth: Spenger himself, the Ybarra family, José Poza and José MarÍa Echarri and its manager Inveready.
THE NEW COMPANY
The new company was born with several objectives beyond the obvious one of continuing to attract clients and income. The first of this
is to reduce the high debt
, which will exceed 12,000 million euros, which will be added after distributing the dividend and refinancing MásMóvil's liabilities.
On the other hand, the group hopes
to squeeze out the synergies of the merger and reach 490 million euros in annual savings
starting in the fourth year after the closing of the operation.
Beyond Spenger and Pech, the Board of Directors will incorporate the former CEO of Orange in Spain and promoter of the operation,
Jean-François Fallacher
, as president and Spenger's right-hand man,
Germán López
as Director of Operations.
Alberto Castañeda
, who already served as secretary of the MásMóvil parent company, will occupy the same role in the new council.
"Today's announcement is an important step in the development of Orange's long-term strategic plan in Europe. By creating a stronger and more sustainable operator, the Joint Venture launched today will help drive innovation and investment in high-speed broadband. speed and in digital services in Spain," said the CEO of Orange,
Christel Heydeman
. For his part,
Spenger
highlighted that the company
will have a greater capacity to invest and innovate
.