The friendly tender offer has been launched by Network Related Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Orange, and targets all the shares of Business & Decision not held today directly or indirectly by Orange. On 26 June, the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) gave its approval to the offer, which opens today and will close on 19 July, 2018.

This offer follows the acquisition on 5 June, 2018 of a 59.1% stake in Business & Decision from the Bensabat family (majority shareholders) at a price of 7.70 euros per share.

Prior to the launch of the offer, Orange owns directly or indirectly 62.7% of Business & Decision shares1 and 59.8% of its voting rights. In addition, Orange has a call option on the remaining 4.88% stake held by the Bensabat family.

If, at the end of the offer, the minority shareholders hold no more than 5% of the capital or the voting rights of Business & Decision, Orange will request a squeeze-out at the tender offer price of 7.93 euros per share.

Detailed presentations of the offer are available in French in the Information Note published by Network Related Services on Orange’s website (www.orange.com) and in the Response Note published on Business & Decision’s website (https://fr.group.businessdecision.com). Both documents are also available on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org).

"For Business & Decision, integrating the Orange Group will enable the teams and customers to benefit from the full range of Orange Business Services’s expertise as an operator and integrator in the areas of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, cyber security and applications as well as from the international scope of its commercial network, which works daily to accompany multinational customers around the globe. Based on an independent expert’s report, the Board of Directors of Business & Decision accepted on 5 June, 2018 that the price of 7.93 euros per share proposed by Network Related Services represented a fair value of the company and unanimously recommended to shareholders of Business & Decision to bring their shares to the offer initiated by Network Related Services," said Thierry Bonhomme, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Business & Decision.

1 Since 6 June 2018, Network Related Services has acquired 283,203 shares (3.6% of the total capital) at a price of 7.93 euros.

 

About Business & Decision

Business & Decision, a global consulting and systems integration group, is a leader in Business Intelligence (BI) and CRM, and a major player in e-Business. The Group contributes to the delivery of high added value corporate projects and helps clients to innovate in areas such as Big Data and digital transformation. It is recognised for its functional and technological expertise by the leading software solution providers on the market, with whom it has established partnerships. Building on a unique expertise in specialist domains, Business & Decision offers tailored solutions for specific sectors of activity as well as job line directorates. Business & Decision operates in 11 countries and employs over 2,400 people in France and worldwide.
To find out more, go to www.group.businessdecision.com

 

À propos
 d’Orange

Orange est l’un des principaux opérateurs de télécommunication dans le monde, avec un chiffre d’affaires de 42 milliards d’euros et 147 000 salariés au 31 décembre 2019, dont 87 000 en France. Le Groupe servait 266 millions de clients au 31 décembre 2019, dont 207 millions de clients mobile, 21 millions de clients haut débit fixe. Le Groupe est présent dans 26 pays. Orange est également l’un des leaders mondiaux des services de télécommunication aux entreprises multinationales sous la marque Orange Business Services. En décembre 2019, le Groupe a présenté son nouveau plan stratégique « Engage 2025 » qui, guidé par l’exemplarité sociale et environnementale, a pour but de réinventer son métier d’opérateur. Tout en accélérant sur les territoires et domaines porteurs de croissance et en plaçant la data et l’IA au cœur de son modèle d’innovation, le Groupe entend être un employeur attractif et responsable, adapté aux métiers émergents.

Orange est coté sur Euronext Paris (symbole ORA) et sur le New York Stock Exchange (symbole ORAN).

Pour plus d'informations (sur le web et votre mobile) : www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com ou pour nous suivre sur Twitter : @presseorange et @orange.

Orange et tout autre produit ou service d'Orange cités dans ce communiqué sont des marques détenues par Orange ou Orange Brand Services Limited.