In August, the Ivorian State decided during a Council of Ministers to sell part of its 14.95% stake in the capital of Orange CI via an OPV. The operation was launched on Wednesday November 30 and will allow the State to retain a 5% stake as well as a seat on the board of directors.

The State of Côte d’Ivoire has launched the public offer for the transfer of part of the shares it holds to Orange Côte d’Ivoire. The launch took place during a ceremony organized on Wednesday, November 30 at the headquarters of the Primature of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.

Nous avons lancé l’Offre Publique de Vente d'une partie des actions de @CI_Orange détenues par l’Etat.
Opération historique dans notre pays par son montant, elle permettra de faire ↗️ l'actionnariat salarié, national & populaire.
C'est cela la #CIV🇨🇮 Solidaire d'@AOuattara_PRCI ! pic.twitter.com/TIauwDsF87

— Patrick Achi (@ACHIPatrick4) December 1, 2022

9.95% of the 14.95% stake held by the Ivorian State in Orange CI will be sold on the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM). This represents a total of 14,990,207 shares divided into two categories. The first, which concerns exclusively the eligible personnel of the Orange CI Group, is made up of 750,000 shares whose unit subscription price is set at 7,600 FCFA, while the second, concerning natural and legal persons other than those of the first category, is made up of 14,240,207 shares, the unit price of which has been set at 9,500 FCFA.

Eventually, the Ivorian State hopes to raise, thanks to this operation, an indicative total amount of 140.9 billion FCFA ($222 million) on the regional market. Its objective is, on the one hand, to maximize public revenues and, on the other hand, to encourage investment by popular shareholders, while contributing to the development of the regional stock market and the national economy.

“  The OPV of Orange Côte d’Ivoire that we are launching is already historic in more ways than one. Because the State’s participation in the capital of Orange CI makes it one of the most important current public assets, because it is the most important privatization operation carried out in our country […], because that it is in parallel the 26th ^operation of privatization of the BRVM, but it is by far the most important  ”, indicated the Prime Minister Patrick Achi (photo).

According to the Ivorian authorities, the operation should, on its own, increase the market capitalization of the BRVM by 25%. With the IPO of Orange CI, the financial institution will have 46 companies, including 35 from Côte d’Ivoire.

“  Orange CI is a safe investment today and an investment for the future tomorrow, in a key telecom operator, driving the economy of the sub-region and more generally of the African continent. An economy and a nation, watched today all over the world for the pace of their growth and the extent of their reform and the extreme quality of their prospects in the discipline  ”, added Mr. Achi during his launch speech .   

Note that the OPV will take place from December 05 to 19, 2022, with the possibility of early closing.

Remember that the Orange CI Group is present in three countries, namely Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. At the end of 2021, it posted a total turnover of 965 billion FCFA ($1.5 billion), with growth of 10.7% and a net result of 155.8 billion FCFA ($245 million), up by 27.5%.

Source: Agence Ecofin