January 26, 2021
Willkie’s Paris office represents the consortium led by Banque des Territoires, CNP Assurances and EDF Invest on the acquisition of a 50% equity interest in Orange Concessions.
On January 22, a consortium led by Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts), CNP Assurances and EDF Invest entered into an exclusivity agreement with Orange to acquire a 50% equity interest in Orange Concessions, a company established by Orange to consolidate its fiber investments in 23 public initiative networks in France, with a perimeter of more than 4.5 million households. Willkie is advising the consortium.
As long-term investors, Banque des Territoires, CNP Assurances and EDF Invest will, alongside Orange and local authorities, support Orange Concessions in its mission to deploy and operate the various networks, which should represent a differentiating factor of attractiveness and competitiveness for these regions. Due to its ownership and sound financial structure, Orange Concessions will have the resources required to achieve its objectives.
The completion of this transaction is subject to customary consultations and authorizations and approval from relevant competition authorities.
Willkie's leading telecoms team, which advised the winning consortium on this significant transaction in France, also recently advised Bouygues Telecom on the structuring, tender, development and non-recourse financing of two major fiber projects in France in 2020: Project Astérix and Project Saint-Malo.
Click here to read Willkie’s July 31 deal announcement and click here to read about Project Astérix’s PFI European Fibre Deal Award.
The Willkie deal team in Paris was led by partner Gabriel Flandin and included partners Thierry Laloum, Amir Jahanguiri, Faustine Viala and counsel Philippe Grudé.
