Although the name will remain the same, the property of Orange Switzerland changes hands again. The Swiss carrier was acquired today by French billionaire Xavier Niel telecom, through its private holding company NJJ Capital.
Neil pay a total of CHF 2.8 billion (€ 2.3 billion) for the third largest mobile operator in Switzerland. It's a good deal for the current owner, Matterhorn Mobile, which is owned by funds advised by Apax Partners, based in London. He paid £ 1.83bn when it bought the telecommunications operator there is a little less than three years.
Niel, Ranked 152 in the list of billionaires Forbes magazine, promises to be a long-term strategic investor. He wants to share best practices of its existing telecommunications operations while being aware of the "Swiss environment and customs."
Recently, Niel made waves by causing a price war in France with the launch of Free Mobile, a subsidiary of his company majority owned by Iliad, which included calls, texts and mobile data roughly half the price France's services on the other three networks. Its strategy is to reduce costs and offer tariff plans ultra low price.
In October his attempt to enter the US market was blocked when its bid for T-Mobile USA was rejected.
His ambitions now seem to focus on the expansion of its telecommunications network among its neighbors in Europe, with the purchase of Monaco Telecom before heading to the Alps with Orange Switzerland purchase.
Orange Switzerland has made some progress over the past three years.
It launched its commercial 4G services in 2013, which now reach 90 percent of the Swiss population, and has expanded its store network with eight new outlets opening this year, including a flagship store in Zurich.
When Orange Switzerland entered the Swiss telecoms market in 1999, it was the third placed mobile operator. That's where it remains, even if it is to close the gap with a 20 percent market share compared to the second mobile operator Sunrise 21 percent. The number of customers increased to just over 2.18 million this year.
While the price war could see beyond Orange Sunrise, the two companies are still a long way behind the leading Swiss telecommunications operator, Swisscom, which holds a share of 59 percent of the mobile market in terms of value.
The agreement to buy orange must be accepted by Swiss regulators but is expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2015.
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About Roger Laing
Roger Laing is a writer, journalist and tweeter on all things business and technology-related. He has written and edited more than 25 books covering social media, PCs, the internet, web design and more
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