The European Commission on Monday approved the acquisition of 75% of capital less one share of Voo by Orange Belgium after a thorough competitive assessment. Orange Belgium and Telenet announced in January 2023 that two commercial fixed wholesale agreements had been signed, with the condition that they would come into effect once the transaction regarding the purchase of 75% minus one share of VOO by Orange Belgium had been completed. The agreements will provide access to each other's fixed networks for 15 years and cover both current Hybrid Fiber Coaxial and future Fiber to the Home technologies in both network areas.
Also Read: Orange Belgium and Telenet Sign 15 Year Agreement for Fixed Networks
European Commission Approval
The approval from European Commission (EC) validates the commitments of Orange Belgium and Telnet and would facilitate the company to move forward with the acquisition of Voo Belgium.
The European Commission stated that "These commitments fully address the competition concerns identified by the European Commission. It therefore concluded that the proposed transaction, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise competition concerns."
Orange Belgium is in the final phase of the transaction towards the closure expected to occur by the end of Q2 2023. Orange Belgium, in its statement, said, "After more than 25 years of Orange's presence in Belgium, the acquisition of VOO is a major step and will enable us to operate a very high-speed network in Wallonia and part of Brussels, thereby reinforcing the deployment of our convergent multigigabit strategy at a national level. Our ambitious investment plan, in combination with VOO's and Orange's skills and expertise, will strengthen the quality of our offers to the customers and ensure competitiveness in the Walloon and Brussels regions."
Also Read: VOO Announces Expansion of Gigabit Connectivity to Namur
Voo Gigabit Connectivity Expansion
Voo announced Gigabit connectivity expansion to Namur in February. As a result, customers in Namur can enjoy internet speeds of up to 1 Gbps. Voo claims this expansion is part of its Giga connectivity aspirations to half of the households in Wallonia and everywhere in Brussels by the end of 2023. Voo's Giga connectivity would soon be expanded to other municipalities.
Orange Belgium, a subsidiary of Orange, is one of the major telecommunication operators in the Belgian market, with over 3 million customers.
