June 30 (SeeNews) - The Moldovan unit of France Telecom's Internet and mobile arm Orange said on Thursday it has signed an agreement on the acquisition of Moldovan cable and pay TV company Sun Communications.
The transaction will allow Orange to enter the fixed and Pay TV services market and offer new services, particularly convergent offers and services across fixed, mobile and pay TV services, it said in a press release.
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Orange aims to reinforce its position as the leading convergent operator in Europe providing fixed broadband, fixed and mobile voice services as well as pay TV services and this acquisition is part of the strategy, it added.
Orange Moldova is the largest mobile operator in the country with over 2.6 million customers and a 57% market share in the national telecommunication sector, data from Moldovan telecom regulator ANRCETI showed.
Sun Communications is the leading Pay TV provider in Moldova by customer base. It offers digital and cable TV services under the brand SunTV to customers in Chisinau, Balti and Cahul, ANRCETI data showed.
With over 172 channels and 25 HD channels on offer, SunTV is one of the largest providers of cable TV services with over 100,000 active customers. Sun also offers internet and Voice over IP (VOIP) services to over 38,000 customers in Moldova, offering up to 300Mbps connectivity.
The completion of the transaction remains subject to the approval of competition authorities.
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 40 billion euro ($44.5 billion) in 2015 and 155,000 employees worldwide at end-March 2016.
($= 0.8986 euro)