Tag Archives: Caribbean

Orange to sell Dominican business unit

Telecoms, , ,

Orange SA, France’s biggest phone company, is nearing an agreement to sell its Dominican Republic unit  for “well over” EUR 1 billion (approximately USD 1.35 billion), the Wall Street Journal reports, citing Orange CEO Stephane Richard. “The probability that we’ll make a Dominican Republic announcement in coming days is very high,” Richard said. “It’s for a value well above what had been expected, well above EUR 1 billion”, he added. The statement was made at a Morgan Stanley investor conference in Barcelona.

Richard declined to name the buyer or give further details related to the deal. Separately, three sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the likely buyer is cable investment group Altice. The latter last month acquired the Dominican operator Tricom.

Orange put the unit up for sale this summer to reduce debt and increase its financial flexibility to participate in an expected wave of consolidation in Europe. Orange had set a mid-November deadline for bids for the company, people familiar with the matter said last month. Parties interested in the acquisition were Cable & Wireless Communications, Jamaica’s Digicel, and Dominican conglomerate Grupo Leon Jimenes, the WSJ’s sources added.

LIME CEO, David Shaw resigns

Telecoms, , , ,

Caribbean based mobile networks, Lime announced that its Chief Executive Officer, David Shaw, has decided to step down after 4 years leading the company. Shaw will be replaced by Tony Rice, who currently serves as chief executive of Lime’s parent company, Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC)

Shaw will remain with the business for the next six months to facilitate a smooth handover of responsibilities.

CWC recently announced its intention to focus its business on the Caribbean and Central American region, after agreeing to sell its Macau and Monaco & Islands operations.

Mr Shaw thanked his colleagues in Lime for their support during his time running the business:

“As a team, we have achieved a great deal during the past four years. Our business is fighting back in Jamaica, in The Bahamas we are well positioned to face up to competition when it comes, and we are competing strongly in our other markets. The business is more focused than ever on delivering for our customers.”

In an interim financial statement, the parent company said that it had maintained mobile market share in Panama, growing mobile service revenue by 5% with an increasing number of customers moving to data plans, driving an improved second half performance.

In Jamaica the company said that it continues to see an excellent response to the launch of competitive mobile packages and have increased mobile subscriber base by over 40% compared to the same point last year. The Bahamas is delivering solid progress in its financial performance together with much improved service and product offerings to its customers.

Restructuring costs will be increased by around $20 million to a total of $55 million.

Stay ahead of the executives changes in Cable & Wireless Communications with Latin Target.

What is Latin Target? Find out at www.latintarget.com

LIME CEO David Shaw steps down

Telecoms, , , ,

Caribbean based mobile networks, Lime announced that its Chief Executive Officer, David Shaw, has decided to step down after 4 years leading the company.Mr Shaw will remain with the business for the next six months to facilitate a smooth handover of responsibilities.

Tony Rice, Chief Executive of Lime’s parent company, Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), will take over the leadership of the business, working with Lime’s regional business leadership team.

CWC recently announced its intention to focus its business on the Caribbean and Central American region, after agreeing to sell its Macau and Monaco & Islands operations.

Mr Shaw thanked his colleagues in Lime for their support during his time running the business:

“As a team, we have achieved a great deal during the past four years. Our business is fighting back in Jamaica, in The Bahamas we are well positioned to face up to competition when it comes, and we are competing strongly in our other markets. The business is more focused than ever on delivering for our customers.”

In an interim financial statement, the parent company said that it had maintained mobile market share in Panama, growing mobile service revenue by 5% with an increasing number of customers moving to data plans, driving an improved second half performance.

In Jamaica the company said that it continues to see an excellent response to the launch of competitive mobile packages and have increased mobile subscriber base by over 40% compared to the same point last year. The Bahamas is delivering solid progress in its financial performance together with much improved service and product offerings to its customers.

Restructuring costs will be increased by around $20 million to a total of $55 million.

New CEO for Digicel Jamaica

Telecoms, , ,

Digicel Jamaica’s CEO, Mark Linehan has been promoted to the role of Regional CEO for the Eastern Caribbean South, with overall responsibility for the islands of Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Mark has spent over ten years in the Digicel family holding key roles in the Eastern Caribbean, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, French Guiana where he served as General Manager and Guyana where he was CEO.

Andy Thorburn has been named as the replacement CEO at Digicel Jamaica.

Speaking about his new role, incoming CEO for Digicel Jamaica, Andy Thorburn, said; “I am delighted to be joining Digicel Jamaica and looking forward to the challenge of building on the amazing work of the last 11 years. The strength and reach of the Digicel brand and network, the fantastically talented staff and the commitment to building our communities all make this a company I am so proud to be joining and helping to take forward.”

—

Get access to the Digicel executives in Jamaica with Latin Target.

What is Latin Target? Find out at www.latintarget.com

BVI Operators Compete for Customer Loyalty

Telecoms, , , , ,

British Virgin Islands based Digicel has topped up all prepay accounts with $15 of free credit to be used over the weekend only. At the same time, rival network, CCT is offering free access to its Wi-Fi network in a move to generate customer loyalty.

Get access to both Digicel BVI and CCT and other operators throughout the Caribbean with Latin Target.

What is Latin Target? Find out at www.latintarget.com

C&W Worldwide reports full-year EBITDA of GBP 378 million

Telecoms, , , ,

Cable & Wireless Worldwide – operating in the Caribbean and Latin America as LIME -has reported trading in line with expectations for the year ending 31 March with trading cash flow of GBP 99 million, compared to GBP 116 million a year earlier.

It has implemented the first phase of a performance improvement plan, including refinancing, new operating model and additional hosting capacity, and expects market conditions to remain challenging during 2012/2013. EBITDA was GBP 378 million for FY 2011/2012, down from GBP 442 million a year earlier.

Get access to all the LIME operators in the Caribbean with Latin Target.

What is Latin Target? Find out at www.latintarget.com