Orange, a French telecommunications company, has announced its withdrawal from negotiations to buy up to 45% of Ethiopian operator Ethio Telecom.
Orange, along with South Africa’s MTN and Abu Dhabi-based e&, submitted an expression of interest to participate in the partial privatization of Ethio Telecom. Having initially expressed interest in 2021, the French telco giant has chosen to put its aspirations for Ethiopia on hold.
Ethiopia was one of the world’s last telecoms monopolies, for many years, with state-run Ethio Telecom providing all of the African country’s fixed broadband and mobile services. This all changed in 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced a plan to liberalize the country’s telecoms sector by bringing in new operators and selling a large stake in Ethio Telecom.
With a population of 120 million people, Ethiopia is Africa’s second-largest telecoms market. Ethio Telecom currently has approximately 70 million customers.
Orange appears to have decided not to pursue a stake in Ethio Telecom any further. “Orange confirms that it has decided to withdraw from the ongoing process regarding the sale of 45% of Ethio Telecom,” the company said in a statement.
“After analysis, the Group believes that the conditions do not allow for the rapid deployment of our strategy and the completion of a project that would create value for the company.”
