Orange announced a deal to sell its 100 per cent stake in mobile subsidiary Orange Armenia to Ucom, an internet service provider in the country.

In a statement, Orange said the agreement “will enable the creation of a strong convergent Armenian player, capable of offering its customers a broad range of fixed and mobile services”.

Orange Armenia was established in 2009 after the group acquired a mobile licence, and the company has since established 3G+ capabilities in Armenia’s capital Yerevan and in rural areas across the country, spending a reported $700 million on its network.

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, but reports suggest it will not receive the full amount of its investment back.

Last month, Orange confirmed it had entered into exclusive discussions with Ucom over the deal, stating at the time the Armenian unit did not “have the necessary scale to carry out by itself the massive investments to enable it to offer its customers convergent services”.

Orange Armenia has the smallest market share in the country (18 per cent), according to GSMA intelligence, lagging behind market leader MTS’ VivaCell (60 per cent) and VimpelCom’s Beeline (22 per cent).

Orange said the subsidiary had 630,000 customers at the end of 2014, employing 500 people.