Mobile Carrier Orange Looks to Flee Dominican Republic

French telecom giant Orange is considering selling its Dominican Republic business, according to report by Reuters.

The sale, according to Reuters, could fetch Orange as much as $1.2 billion, something the French telecom carrier badly requires to repay its debt. The French company is the second biggest telecom carrier in Dominican Republic with 38.4 percent of wireless market share. However, the biggest carrier in Dominican is America Movil. That means other carriers, like Viva or Tricom, might attempt to take over the Orange operation in the country.

Orange is in talks with several banks and is expected to appoint a financial adviser in coming days to help on the sale.According to Dominican Today, Orange officials in the country are refusing to comment on the report.

The Dominican Republic has a mobile penetration rate of 86.9 percent among its population of 10.2 million, according to data compiled by the Dominican Telecommunication Institute (Indotel) and the IMF.