Communiqué: Announcement of the final results of the public takeover bid for Orange Belgium
Press release
Paris, 6 May 2021
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH PUBLICATION WOULD BE ILLEGAL
Announcement of the final results of the public takeover bid for Orange Belgium (the “Offer”)
Following the voluntary reopening of the Offer, which began on April 28 and ended on May 4, 14,368,307 Orange Belgium shares in total were tendered to the Offer, representing 23.94% of the share capital of Orange Belgium and 50.97% of the total number of shares targeted by the Offer.
Payment of the Offer price for the shares tendered during the reopening of the Offer will take place on May 17.
On this date, Orange SA will directly and indirectly hold 46,191,064 shares of Orange Belgium (including treasury shares), representing 76.97% of the share capital of Orange Belgium.
Commenting on these results, Ramon Fernandez, Deputy CEO in charge of Finance, Performance and Development of the Orange Group said:
“We have achieved the objective we set for ourselves: offering a fair price to shareholders who wanted to monetize their shares and strengthening our stake in Orange Belgium.
With nearly 77% of the capital held by the Group, we now have the means to improve the financial flexibility of Orange Belgium, deploy its long-term value creation strategy more effectively and enable it to better react to major transformations of the Belgian market.“
About Orange
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.3 billion euros in 2020 and 140,000 employees worldwide at 31 March 2021, including 80,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 262 million customers worldwide at 31 March 20210, including 217 million mobile customers and 22 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new “Engage 2025” strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.
Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).
For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.
Press contact:
Tom Wright; tom.wright@orange.com; +33 6 78 91 35 11
Warnings:
This press release may not be published, distributed or disseminated in any country or territory where its publication or the offers referred to in this press release would be illegal or may require registration or any other filing of documents. Anyone in possession of this press release must refrain from publishing, distributing or disseminating it in the countries and territories concerned.
This press release may not be published, distributed or disseminated in the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. The public tender offer referred to in this press release will not be extended to the United States, directly or indirectly, and will not use any jurisdictional means (such as the post office, telephone networks, financial markets, the Internet or any other means) of the United States.
This press release does not constitute an extension to the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan of any offer mentioned in this press release. Furthermore, this press release does not constitute or form part of an offer to sell, nor does it constitute a solicitation of an order to buy financial instruments in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.
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