A dazzling entrepreneur now calls the shots at Orange Switzerland
The new owner of Orange Switzerland is one of France's most colorful entrepreneurs: Xavier Niel, with his company Iliad, revolutionized the French telecommunications market in a short period of time.
Niel made headlines around the world with the failed takeover of the U.S. company T-Mobile. Niel earned his first money in the 1980s with the French Internet forerunner Minitel: The young entrepreneur offered chat services for adults on Minitel. Later, he focused on the fledgling Internet and co-founded one of the first French Internet providers, World-Net. He later demonstrated his flair for the telecommunications business with the provider Free, which was one of the first in France to offer telephone, TV and Internet as a package deal. Iliad, with its Free and Free Mobile brands, is now one of the largest telecommunications groups in the Republic. According to its own figures, Iliad is number three in the mobile business - even though the group only expanded into the mobile market in 2012. Free Mobile owes its rapid rise to its aggressive pricing policy.
But France is apparently not big enough for Niel: Last summer, he tried unsuccessfully with Iliad to buy a majority stake in T-Mobile US, the fourth-largest mobile carrier in the United States. His $15 billion offer was audacious, because T-Mobile is worth around 60 percent more on the stock market than Iliad. But the failed takeover attempt did not cool Niel's expansion plans, as the purchase of Orange Switzerland proves.
Co-owner of Le Monde
Thanks to his majority stake in Iliad, Niel is one of the richest men in France - according to Forbes magazine, the telecom entrepreneur is worth around 8.2 billion dollars. In France, the billionaire is also known as one of the owners of the newspaper Le Monde. Niel joined other investors in the traditional Parisian paper in 2010. (SDA)
Niel on the acquisition of Orange Switzerland: "Since Orange Switzerland was acquired by Apax funds in 2012, my team and I have followed the development of the company very closely. As such, we have witnessed the successful change process at Orange Switzerland under Apax's leadership. NJJ Capital, as the new owner of Orange Switzerland, will provide continuity to customers, employees and management. NJJ Capital is a long-term strategic investor, owned and managed by proven telecom specialists, whose goal is to share and exchange best practices with Orange Switzerland management. My top priority in the future will be to manage Orange Switzerland according to the Swiss environment and its customs."
Orange has changed hands many times
In the 16-year history of Orange Switzerland, the number three in the mobile communications market, there have been several changes of ownership. Here are the most important milestones in Orange's history:
1994: Establishment of the Orange Group in the United Kingdom as a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa and British Aerospace. It builds Orange Communications in Switzerland with the German Viag Group, Zurich-based Swissphone Engineering AG and Waadtländer Kantonalbank.
January 1998: Orange Communications AG is founded with headquarters in Zug. Later, the company headquarters are moved first to Lausanne, then to Renens VD.
April 20, 1998: Orange Switzerland receives a mobile communications license from the Federal Communications Commission (Comcom).
June 28, 1999: Orange becomes the third mobile communications provider to start operations in Switzerland, after Swisscom and DiAx (later Sunrise).
October 1999: The German industrial group Mannesmann acquires Orange, giving Orange Switzerland a new major shareholder. At the same time, Orange concludes an interconnection agreement with Swisscom and thus enters the fixed network.
April 2000: There is another change in the shareholder structure of Orange Switzerland, as the British company Vodafone acquires Mannesmann together with Orange. However, under pressure from the European competition authorities, Vodafone has to sell Orange.
May 30, 2000: The French state-owned telecommunications group France Télécom is buying Orange for around 74 billion francs. France Télécom thus also acquires a 42.5 percent stake in Orange Switzerland.
November 8, 2000: France Télécom acquires a majority stake in Orange Switzerland and pays CHF 2.4 billion for the 42.5 percent stake held by German conglomerate E.ON.
December 6, 2000: Orange Switzerland acquires a UMTS license for CHF 50 million.
November 25, 2009: France Télécom announces its intention to buy Sunrise and merge it with Orange Switzerland.
April 22, 2010: The Competition Commission (Weko) prohibits the planned merger to prevent a duopoly of Sunrise/Orange and Swisscom in the mobile communications market.
June 3, 2010: Orange Switzerland and Sunrise definitively drop the intended merger and withdraw their appeal against the Weko veto. Sunrise is then sold by its owner, the TDC Group, to the financial investor CVC Capital Partners for CHF 3.3 billion.
July 28, 2011: France Télécom, which is having problems on its home market, is looking for a buyer for Orange Switzerland. The Swiss subsidiary no longer fits its strategy.
December 24, 2011: Orange Switzerland is going to the British investment company Apax, which includes the fashion company Tommy Hilfiger, for around 2 billion Swiss francs.
February 15, 2013: Orange announces up to 140 job cuts in 2013.
December 18, 2014: Apax sells Orange Switzerland to French telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel. (SDA)
