Somehow Orange will become the Swiss SFR

The Switzerland will soon pass of three mobile operators in two. And it is a Frenchman who is responsible for this movement. Orange announced yesterday plans to merge its activity in the Confederation Swiss with the Danish operator TDC, known under the brand name Sunrise. Orange will cost 1.5 billion euros and will take 75 of the capital of the new ensemble, the rest being in the hands of TDC. Valued 9 times the gross operating surplus expected this year, the operation aims to create a group of large enough to compete with Swisscom, the operator of the country. Thus, in the mobile, Orange and Sunrise merged will have 3.4 million customers, which will give the new entity a market share of approximately 38. With 62, Swisscom will remain the number one of the country. Of course, the question of whether the Swiss regulator will validate without too many counterparties such concentration in mobile telephony, arises. But Orange shows his confidence. "It does not launch in such an operation without some guarantees", loose a framework, refusing to say more. The authorities should give their response here next May.

Another segment in which the new entity will be strengthened: the Internet at high speed. In the ADSL, Orange is very present, unlike Sunrise. The company will hold subscribers 325 000 ADSL on the 2.6 million in the Switzerland, or a market share of 13. Somehow, Orange will become the "Swiss SFR." "Synergies mainly come from the combination of the two mobile networks." "We've planned no synergy linked to the development of the activity", says Gervais Pellissier, CFO of France Telecom.

The two operators expect indeed 2.1 billion euros of synergy updated of the operation. A figure very high since the new group, if it had existed in 2008, would have realized a turnover of EUR 2.04 billion and would have reached a gross of 536 million operating surplus this year there.

And always emerging countries

Within three months, it is the second time that France Telecom strengthens in a market in Europe, while it was thought that the Group focus on the emerging countries. In early September, Orange decided to marry his activity in Britain with that of T-Mobile, subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. Here too, the aim is identical: Merge to save.It is primarily the goal in mobile networks, given the importance of future investments in the fourth generation of mobile telephony. "There where we are already present, if we can strengthen our business by buying attractive assets, then we do this." "But we will not in best ir in new countries, in which we are absent today," said Gervais Pellissier.

No question as to abandon ambitions in emerging countries, since the activity in most markets in Europe will decline this year. If France Telecom leaders are not interested in the purchase of an integrated and present in many developing countries - as group Orascom, Zain or Millicom-, on the other hand, they are very open to acquisitions following countries, with as a priority the African mobile market. In the first half, France Telecom has made more than 4 billion euros in sales in emerging countries (including Eastern Europe), i.e. 16 of the sales of the operator. By contrast, the proportion of sales by Telefonica in Latin America over the same period reached it, 40.