Orange Belgium has confirmed its interest in a merger with cable operator Voo. Following a report in business daily L'Echo, the company issued a statement confirming it's informed Voo's parent companies Nethys and Brutele about its "interest in an industrial partnership", which has the backing of Orange group.
Orange Belgium said a merger "would represent the best opportunity" for Nethys and Brutele, including their customers (residential and enterprise), employees and shareholders. The companies are controlled by local municipalities in respectively Wallonia and Brussels and work together to offer cable services under the Voo brand.
A merger with mobile operator Orange would create a third convergent operator in Belgium, alongside Proximus and Telenet, and lead to the launch of a "major multi-year investment plan for very high-speed fixed and mobile networks in the Walloon and Brussels region", Orange said. Consumers would also benefit from the increased competition with three convergent players in Belgium, the company said.
Voo is the largest cable operator in Wallonia, and Orange already uses its network to offer cable services. The takeover would give Orange its own fixed network and help it compete better against bigger rivals Proximus and Telenet. Voo recently agreed to move its MVNO from Orange's mobile network to Telenet.
Nethys is owned by a consortium of municipalities, led by the province of Liege. It also is active in the energy sector and owns the 'L'Avenir' group of newspapers and BeTV pay-TV channels. Brutele is controlled by the Brussels municipalities where Voo operates.
