Orange Bank rejects Ripplewood takeover offer

Ripplewood, the American investment company, will not take over Orange Bank. The board of directors of the online bank, a subsidiary of the telecoms operator Orange, rejected its offer, submitted last Monday, on Friday. “After carefully analyzing the RippleWood/IrisFinancial offer, particularly through its ability to guarantee the sustainability of activity and employment, the Board of Directors of Orange Bank unanimously decided not to not follow up on the takeover offer and confirmed that it favors the plan to close the bank,” explains an Orange Bank spokesperson. “We are convinced that this decision is in the best interests of employees and customers.”

Orange put Orange Bank up for sale last year, launched in 2017, which boasts two million customers. But, for lack of a satisfactory solution, he announced at the end of June the closure of his online bank which had accumulated more than 1 billion in operating losses in five years. This must be managed in extinction. At the same time, Orange entered into exclusive negotiations with BNP Paribas six months ago to sell part of its client portfolio in France and Spain. But, as provided for by the Florange law in the context of the closure of an establishment, Orange had to look for a buyer for its banking subsidiary, without obligation, however, to accept the offer. In the fall, its teams therefore contacted Ripplewood again, which had previously applied for the takeover of Orange Bank on multiple occasions over the last four years. But the offer submitted by the investment company via Iris Financial, a company listed in Amsterdam, did not convince the board of directors of Orange Bank. According to our information, it was considered unrealistic (Ripplewood notably planned to gain 300,000 customers in the first year) and unviable from a social and financial point of view. Other elements also hampered the Orange Bank board: Iris Financial's head office is located in the Cayman Islands. And the company, which refused to communicate the identity of one of its shareholders, asked Orange to carry out a significant recapitalization of its banking subsidiary, even before the finalization (“closing”) of the offer.

Orange Bank will therefore close and will be managed in extinction. “The social process with staff representatives continues in order to define the best conditions for an Employment Protection Plan,” indicates the Orange Bank board of directors. We are committed to leading an exemplary process that will allow everyone to find a solution.”