Authorities approve Orange’s €350m acquisition of Basefarm
Today Orange Business Services announced that its 100 percent acquisition of Basefarm Holding SA has been signed off by the relevant competition authorities.
In mid-July this year Orange announced its intentions to take over Basefarm's complete operations for a weighty sum of €350 million with the goal becoming a European leader in the cloud computing services market.
Basefarm has 11 data centers across four countries with a strong operational presence in several other European countries – particularly in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany.
The company recorded revenues of more than 11 million euros in 2017 and has undergone steady growth since its inception.
"We are very proud to announce the acquisition of Basefarm, which will mark a major milestone in our international development," says Orange Business Services chief executive officer Helmut Reisinger.
"In particular, the company's integration will enable us to significantly extend our Big Data and critical application management services on a rapidly consolidating market.
According to the two companies, Basefarm's most innovative services include big data, cloud computing, and AI. The business currently employs approximately 550 employees.
"We are very pleased with Orange's decision to acquire Basefarm, a sign of our continued success in Europe," says Basefarm chief executive officer Fredrik Ohlsen.
"Orange is already a major player in the cloud services business and our two companies are very well matched in terms of our product portfolio, and also when it comes to geographical spread. Together we're able to build a pan-European leader in cloud managed services, something which will benefit Basefarm and our customers.
Reisinger is looking forward to the opportunities the acquisition will bring for Orange, as it looks to expand its footprint across Europe.
"In addition to our ability to offer access to public or private cloud infrastructure, it is above all our capacity to propose enriched, automated services to our customers, wherever they are in the world, that will enable us to support companies as they transform onto new, digital models based on cloud-computing, big data and artificial intelligence," concludes Reisinger.
