BRVM Values Combined Cote d'Ivoire Telecom-Orange at $6 Billion
- Deal may lift value of West African exchange by as much as 40%
- Orange's wireless operator is merging with landline provider
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A combination of Ivory Coast’s landline operator Côte d’Ivoire Telecom and Orange SA’s local unit may be valued at $4 billion to $6 billion on the regional stock exchange, a deal that could increase the capitalization of Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres by as much as 40 percent.
Ivory Coast and Paris-based Orange have agreed to merge Côte d’Ivoire Telecom with Orange Côte d’Ivoire, the biggest mobile operator in the West African country by number of subscribers. Côte d’Ivoire Telecom is 49 percent owned by Ivory Coast and 51 percent by Orange. The combination, scheduled to be completed next month, will leave the government with a 15 percent shareholding, which it could then decide to sell.