2023-11-14 15:20:00
For months, Xavier Niel has not hidden his desires elsewhere. The good results of Iliad, the parent company of Free, visibly give wings to the billionaire, who is already present in Italy, Poland, Ireland, Monaco and even Switzerland. This Tuesday, Xavier Niel announced that he had taken 6% in the historic Belgian operator Proximus. This investment, the amount of which has not been disclosed, was made via his company Carraun, where his stake in Eir Telecom is housed.
In a press release, Xavier Niel welcomes his arrival at Proximus. ” I am interested for many years in the Belgian market, whose economy is strong and where a sound regulatory approach has led to a dynamic telecommunications sectorhe says. Over the years, Proximus has been able to adapt to a rapidly changing telecom environment and has remained the national leader. It would be an honor and a privilege for us to be able to contribute, as a long-term partner, to the future of Proximus. » Carraun says, moreover, “ready to cooperate with Proximus management” to expand the operator.
Upcoming battle with Orange
In Belgium, Xavier Niel will cross swords with an operator he knows well, and which is none other than Orange. The French historic operator has a major subsidiary there, Orange Belgium. This reached a milestone last March by purchasing the cable operator Voo. The operation allowed Orange to strengthen its position in the strategic niche of fixed Internet, although until now it did not have its own network in Belgium.
Is Proximus ultimately intended to modify its strategy with the arrival – and perhaps a future strengthening – of Xavier Niel in the capital? Could it, for example and as in France or Italy, adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy to attract more subscribers? What is certain is that telecoms prices remain particularly high in Belgium. According to the IPBT, the Belgian regulator of the sector, it is necessary, a minima, pay 70 euros per month to have very high-speed Internet, television and landline telephony. That is to say twice as much as in France.
On the Old Continent, Xavier Niel, who is very proud to have built a “pan-European telecoms champion”, perhaps hasn’t finished his shopping. Last year, he notably acquired 2.5% of the British giant Vodafone, after failing to buy its Italian subsidiary and marry it to Iliad Italia. In Spain, Iliad is often cited as one day taking over Vodafone Spain if the opportunity arises. Xavier Niel could also, possibly, position himself on Meo, the Portuguese historic operator that Patrick Drahi has put up for sale to pay off part of his debts…
Xavier Niel’s appetite goes hand in hand with his good economic and commercial results. This same Tuesday, Iliad reported record growth for the third quarter. Its sales increased by more than 10%, to 6.8 billion euros, over the first nine months of the year. In France, its largest market, these increased by 8.3%, to nearly 4.5 billion euros. Iliad gained 324,000 new subscribers in the third quarter, including 274,000 on mobile, 50,000 on fixed Internet. Free claims, thus, “leadership” in terms of subscriber recruitment. The operator is taking advantage of the price increase strategy of its rivals Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom in particular to stock up.
Italy in full growth
In Italy too, business is doing well. Iliad Italia, which launched in 2018, attracted 382,000 new subscribers in the third quarter, including 359,000 in mobile. Over the same period, its turnover increased by 13%, to 238 million euros. Finally in Poland, sales increased in the third quarter by almost 8%, to 512 million euros.
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