Orange in talks to merge its Spanish unit with rival MasMovil, Expansion says

MADRID, Feb 8 (Reuters) - French telecom operator Orange
is exploring merging its Spanish unit, the country's
second largest, with local rival MasMovil, Expansion newspaper
reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified market sources.

The merger plan considers granting 50% in the new company
to Orange on one hand and MasMovil's shareholders -buyout funds
KKR, Cinven and Providence- on the other, the newspaper
said.

The resulting company, between the second and fourth largest
operators, would approach in size historic operator Telefonica
and leave behind Vodafone, currently the third
one, the newspaper said.

Top officials at European carriers have repeatedly called
for market consolidation to reduce competition and boost
operators' profitability at a time they need cash to invest into
the rollout of 5G mobile telecom infrastructure.

Orange and MasMovil spokespeople declined to comment.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Andres Gonzalez, Editing by
Louise Heavens)