French to transfer Polish mobile assets to Orange

Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA) expects France Telecom to transfer its minority stake in their jointly owned mobile operator PTK Centertel to the French firm's cellular unit Orange in 2003 or 2004, a TPSA official told the WBJ last week. France Telecom plans to move its 34% of Centertel to its U.K.-based subsidiary and rebrand the operations under the Orange label as part of the firm's global consolidation strategy for its wireless assets. Poland's dominant phone operator TPSA holds the remaining shares of Centertel. Two members of TPSA's five-person management board said it would be impossible for the transfer to take place this year, according to a TPSA official who asked not to be identified. Questions about the share transfer were raised earlier this month after France Telecom decided to purchase additional shares of TPSA, which would give the French control of the telecom giant. Sławomir Skrodzki, Centertel's president, told the WBJ in January that France Telecom would likely decide to move its Centertel holding to Orange by mid-2002. But at a press conference last week, he said talks on the possible share transfer were not even close to ending. He added that no decision on changing or dropping Centertel's Idea brand had been made.

"We are an important partner for Orange, and Orange is a great source of knowledge and experience for us," Skrodzki said, although he emphasized that Idea is a well-known domestic brand, whereas Orange is a global one. France Telecom will transfer its holding to Orange only after certain regulatory and business conditions have been met, said Giles Spence, a France Telecom spokesman. He said he could not specify a date when the transfer would occur. Christopher King, an Orange spokesman, said France Telecom and Orange had to obtain an agreement from "all parties with a vested interest in Centertel" before completing the transfer, but he declined to provide further details about other conditions to be met. He also said it was not possible to give a date for the transfer or to speculate on the possibility of rebranding Centertel as Orange. France Telecom acquired Orange, one of Europe's largest mobile companies, from U.K.-based operator Vodafone in August 2000. Orange's assets have been merged with the majority of the France Telecom's wireless holdings. Orange plans to roll out its brand in all markets where it has a presence by 2005. As part of its consolidation plans in Central and Eastern Europe, Orange rebranded the Slovakian mobile firm Globtel and the Romanian cell-phone operator Mobil Rom in March and April, respectively.