France Telecom is planning to exit most of its East Africa’s operations, which it runs under the Orange brand, the Nation quoted a TMT finance report stating that the multinational has initiated the exit from the continent, with a confirmation of official talk in Uganda.

TMT Finance is a corporate finance consulting company that provides information on mergers and acquisitions. It said the French firm had appointed financial advisory firm Lazard to find a buyer for its mobile telecommunications business in Uganda as it seeks to leave its non-profitable African markets.

Speculations are also rife in Kenya where France Telecom holds a 70 percent stake in Telkom Kenya, which operates mobile phone services under the Orange Kenya.

Orange Africa operations include Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Guinea and Senegal.

“Aside from Uganda, which is thought to be the only geography where an official process is underway, this could also include Orange’s mobile businesses in Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger, among other countries,” TMT Finance said in a report.

France Telkom singled out its operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Guinea and Senegal as those registering positive growth in its financials for the year ending December 2013, where it posted a 4.5 per cent revenue decline to 40.981 billion euros.

Denials

Nation reported both Orange Uganda’s, Phillipe Luxcy, and Orange Kenya’s, Mickael Ghossein, chief executive officers had denied knowledge of the parent company’s exit plan, terming it as mere speculation.

“Perhaps the exit strategy is from our shareholders but I do not have this information,” Mr Phillipe Luxcy told Ugandan newspaper New Vision, while Kenya’s Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich told Nation he had no official knowledge of the move, adding that he had also heard the rumor.

The Kenyan government has a 30 per cent stake in Orange Kenya, which was previously a state corporation before it was sold to France Telecom in the wake of the mobile revolution that rendered its fixed line service almost obsolete.

Orange is the smallest telecoms player in both Kenya and Uganda and the two holdings are barely making any profit for the Group. Aside from Uganda, which is thought to be the only geography where an official process is underway, and Kenya Orange exit could also include its holdings in Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger.

MTN and Vodacom have been mentioned as the front runners to buyout France Telecom from the East African market as they seek to increase their business footprint in the region.