PARIS (FRANCE) – Leading French telecoms operator Orange said late on Friday that it would sell part of its fixed fibre assets in the country to a consortium of three investors for 1.3 billion euros ($1.58 billion).
It is for the first time that the Paris-based firm has agreed to sell a part of its valuable broadband network in the country.
This comes as the telecoms industry must pump in funds to keep on deploying upgraded broadband networks in Europe and an expensive new mobile Internet technology, or 5G.
The firm said in a statement that it had consented to sell 50% of Orange Concessions, which includes some of its French fibre assets, to La Banque des Territoires, part of France’s state-owned bank Caisse des Dépôts, insurer CNP Assurances and EDF Invest consortium.
The firm said the deal places Orange Concessions at 2.675 billion euros and the entity covers about 4.5 million so-called fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) plugs in rural France.
Orange said markets would be kept updated about its plans for its European assets when it reports full-year results on Feb. 18.