Orange Espana is considering an acquisition approach for Spanish regional operator Euskaltel Group, El Economista reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. Euskaltel’s majority shareholder Kutxabank currently holds a 21.3% stake in the company and has been actively selling shares in recent months, suggesting it would be open to a deal. Running in parallel, UK-based strategic shareholder Zegona, which holds a 15.0% stake, withdrew its own offer to take over Euskaltel last month after a lack of interest from its fellow shareholders.
The Euskaltel Group currently comprises Euskaltel (Basque Autonomous Community), R Cable (Galicia) and Telecable (Asturias). Euskaltel and Orange are said to enjoy an ‘excellent’ relationship, and the regional telco’s 950,000-strong MVNO base has utilised the Orange network for connectivity since 2014.