Herbert Smith Freehills advises Orange on its €350 million acquisition in cloud computing

Global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised the Orange Group, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, on its €350 million acquisition of Basefarm Holding AS from private equity investment firm Abry Partners II, LLC. This acquisition cements Orange Business Services’ leading position in the cloud computing services market in France and a significant player in Europe.

Basefarm is a leading European player in cloud-based infrastructure and services, as well as the management of critical applications and data analysis. The company, which recorded revenues of over €100 million in 2017, has enjoyed strong growth since 2015. Basefarm has a strong operational presence in a number of European countries, particularly in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, where it boasts cutting-edge big data activity. Its business proposition lies at the forefront of the most innovative services in cloud computing, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.

The acquisition of Basefarm represents an important step forward in Orange Business Services’ development strategy. With its existing team of 1,600 cloud computing experts, Orange Business Services is currently growing by around 15 to 20% each year on the global market in this sector. The acquisition of Basefarm will complement its existing catalogue of offers and will reinforce its strategic position by bringing a new source of expertise and innovative technologies, particularly in data management, the management of critical applications, Big Data and multi-cloud services.

Herbert Smith Freehills worked closely with Orange Group teams.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by Gavin Davies, Head of the firm's global M&A practice, and Frédéric Bouvet, M&A Partner and Managing Partner of the firm's Paris office. They were supported by Magali Fernandes in Paris, Aaron White and Faria Ali in London and Nico Abel in Germany.

The closing of the transaction is expected to take place during the third quarter of 2018 and is conditional upon the approbation of the relevant competition authorities.