04/02/16 07:00

Corporate news

Board of Directors of Mobistar approves the adoption of the Orange brand in Belgium

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Brussels, 4 February 2016 – As proposed by the management team, Mobistar’s Board of Directors has decided in favour of adopting the Orange brand in Belgium.

For the past few years, Mobistar has conducted several in-depth analyses regarding the opportunity of replacing the Mobistar brand with the Orange brand. The analysis of the Belgian market evolution carried out in 2015 led the management team to propose this change of brand to the Board of Directors.

This change will help the company to effectively boost its transformation and support its strategic development through new services for business and residential customers. The introduction of the Orange brand will enable Mobistar to strengthen its position on the Belgian market as a convergent as well as mobile player.

By forging closer ties with the Orange Group, Mobistar will gain among other things more direct access to the Group’s innovations and technical expertise, and will benefit from the globally-recognized force of the Orange brand.

Based on the analyses in line with Article 524 of the Companies Act, which regulates the transactions within the same group, the members of Mobistar’s Board of Directors voted unanimously in favour of adopting the Orange brand. Mobistar’s Board of Directors has mandated the Executive Committee to finalise the plans for the implementation of the Orange brand in Belgium before the end of 2016.

Jan Steyaert, President of the Board of Directors of Mobistar, said: "In the nearly 20 years of its existence, Mobistar has revolutionised and democratised the Belgian telecommunications market. The adoption of a major international brand such as Orange will enable the company to continue to energise the Belgian market for the benefit of its consumers. That is why our Board of Directors voted wholeheartedly and unanimously in favour of the brand change, which will allow Mobistar to continue its development under the Orange brand ."

Jean Marc Harion, Mobistar CEO, declared: "The adoption of the Orange brand is a unique opportunity to strengthen our presence in our markets and to support our entrance into the world of convergence with the upcoming launch of our cable Internet and TV offer for residential customers and the recent launch of the new Pulse offers for companies. On the business market, the rebranding will help to reconfirm our leadership in international services in the domain of Machine-to-Machine and the Internet of Things."

Customers shouldn’t do anything. Mobistar will provide them with additional details in due course regarding the timing and the impact of this major milestone in the company’s development.

Orange holds a 53% stake in Mobistar. The adoption of the Orange brand in Belgium does not imply any change in the ownership structure of Mobistar, nor does it imply any strengthening of the Orange Group's interest. The rebranding does not imply any change in the governance of the company and the autonomy of the management. More info about Orange: www.orange.com