Orange is in “exclusive discussions” with Ucom, an Armenian internet service provider, to sell 100 per cent of its mobile subsidiary Orange Armenia.

The group believes its Armenian unit “does not have the necessary scale to carry out by itself the massive investments required to enable it to offer its customers convergent services,” it said in a statement.

Selling the unit to Ucom “would enable the creation of a strong Armenian player capable of offering its customers a broad range of fixed and mobile services,” it believes.

Orange Armenia was established in 2009 after the Orange Group acquired a mobile licence.

Orange says it has since deployed one of the country’s most extensive 3G+ networks both in the capital Yerevan and in rural areas.

According to GSMA Intelligence, Orange has the smallest market share (18 per cent) in the country with 626,282 connections in Q1 2015, with VivaCell (MTS) leading the way (60 per cent) and Beeline (VimpelCom) coming in second place (22 per cent).

Earlier this week, Orange said it had entered into exclusive talks to explore the possible acquisition of four Airtel subsidiaries in the continent, while eyeing a Q4 timeframe for the deal.