Orange and Millicom have signed an agreement to facilitate the acquisition of Millicom's operations in the DRC ('Tigo DRC).

Orange has operations in 28 countries and a total customer base of 263 million globally as of 30 September 2015, including 200 million mobile customers and 18 million fixed broadband customers.

In a statement, Orange expanded on the motivation behind the deal. "The mobile market in the DRC is undergoing significant growth and is currently the largest mobile market in Central and West Africa after Nigeria with more than 40 million subscribers. Tigo DRC is a perfect fit for Orange given the complementarity of their operations both from a geographical and cultural standpoint."

Orange added that it is looking to reinforce its presence significantly in the DRC. "This acquisition underlines Orange's strategy in Africa which aims at developing and maintaining leading competitive positions across its various countries of operations on the continent."

Millicom has confirmed the deal and said it will sell 100% of the share capital in Oasis SA for a total cash consideration of US$160 million.

Mauricio Ramos, CEO of Millicom said: "The sale of Tigo DRC is in line with our strategy of supporting consolidation and concentrating our resources in our most promising markets. Proceeds from the sale will strengthen our balance sheet allowing us to reinvest in our existing Latin American and African markets, improving earnings and cash flow and reducing leverage."

Both parties have reiterated the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.