Orange has kicked off informal talks with Millicom International to buy some of the company's operations in Africa, Bloomberg reported citing two people familiar with the matter. Orange is reportedly seeking to buy Millicom's operations in Senegal, Ghana and Chad. Orange is also looking for new opportunities in East Africa after agreeing to sell its 70 percent stake in Orange Kenya to Helios Investments in November 2015, one of the people said.
In February, Millicom agreed to sell Orange its assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo for USD 160 million. Millicom is looking to discard its assets in West and Central Africa, said two people familiar with the matter, including one who spoke about Orange's interest. The company has come under increasing pressure from regulators to extend its network from urban centres to rural areas where it lags other providers, one of the people said. Millicom will probably seek to maintain its networks in East Africa, where it operates in Tanzania and Rwanda, the person said.
