French carrier Orange SA mulls pursuing consolidation in the European marketplace in this week's telecom capital markets round-up:
Orange looks toward consolidation
Across Europe, national governments have expressed interest in consolidating the continent's various telecom markets and making better use of wireless resources. To that end, the French government recently requested that the country's market leader, Orange SA, attempt to form alliances with European entities to help aid these efforts, according to Bloomberg News.
The French government currently acts as the largest shareholder of Orange, owning a 27 percent stake in the telco. Orange CEO Stephane Richard has been a vocal supporter of consolidation in the European telecom sector, the news outlet reported. Those comments have been echoed by other major telecom leaders in the region including the former CEO of Deutsche Telekom, Rene Obermann, who previously stated that taking this approach would be imperative to competing with international carriers.
ItsOn Inc. raises $12.5M in funding
Mobile service provider ItsOn Inc. recently announced that it had obtained the funding needed to help speed up the launch of its cloud-based operation and business support systems. In particular, the company has its eye on expanding its operations in Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East.
The Series C round of funding was spearhead by Tenaya Capital and included a contribution from Andreessen Horowitz, an existing investor. ItsOn's cloud-based platform products allow for the delivery of on-device purchases and contextual services. Overall, ItsOn offers the ability to streamline processes and accelerate service deployment at a lower cost. Company officials and third-party investors also stated that these features will enable clients to increase customer satisfaction and reduce attrition rates.
"ItsOn saves mobile operators a great deal of resources, time to market and money when compared to their current spending," said Tenaya Capital Managing Director Stewart Gollmer. "ItsOn's platform also provides new operator growth opportunities with exciting on-device offers that are very relevant to the mobile consumer and provide a great way for operators to differentiate themselves in the mobile application ecosystem."
Trescal purchases test equipment assets
Trescal, an international provider of calibration services, recently announced that it had completed the purchase of two companies specializing in test equipment. The acquired organizations, Instrument Calibration Services and Test Equipment Repair Corporation, offer both calibration and repair services for various machines used in the telecom industry.
Trescal received the assistance of Ardian, its majority shareholder, in finalizing the acquisition. The independent private investment company has aggressively sought to expand Trescal's footprint, looking to position it as a global leader in calibration services. Since Ardian obtained a majority stake in Trescal in July 2013, the company has made moves for expansion on four separate occasions. Company leaders expect this latest acquisition to increase Trescal's footprint as well as improve the quality of its offerings.
"The acquisition furthers our growth strategy in North America, and marks another significant step towards our goal of dominating the market within two years," Trescal General Secretary Guillaume Caroit said. "Once again, the expertise of the teams and the reputation of these companies were critical aspects of both acquisitions."
China offers funding for Mexican telecom projects
Representatives of the Chinese government, financial sector and telecom industry recently met with Mexican government officials to discuss the funding of two network projects currently being planned. Bloomberg News reported that Chinese entities, including China Development Bank, could bankroll the estimated $750 million needed to complete the networks if an agreement can be reached with Mexican authorities.
The goal of the networks is to bring quality telecom services to underserved rural communities in Mexico. According to two sources who spoke to Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity, Huawei Technologies could supply the equipment needed to complete these projects if Mexico accepts the funding. For China, this potential deal represents government officials' focus on encouraging domestic carriers to expand beyond the country's borders.
