Orange acquired an additional 9 per cent stake in Moroccan affiliate Meditel, taking its holding in the country’s number two mobile operator to 49 per cent.

The move follows an agreement signed by Orange and shareholders Fipar-Holding (owned by a Moroccan state financial institution) and conglomerate FinanceCom in 2010, when the French incumbent first took its stake in the North African player.

Created in 1999, Meditel has both fixed and mobile units, and is currently overhauling its mobile network to hit 95 per cent 3G coverage – it has also recently launched 4G services. According to Orange, the company had a 2014 EBITDA of €170 million, up 18 per cent year-on-year, on revenue of €503 million, up 7 per cent.

Original shareholders in the company included Telefonica and Portugal Telecom, who sold-out prior to Orange coming on board.

The 2010 deal was the first major move by Stephane Richard, Orange’s CEO (pictured), who described it as “the first concrete step in our new policy of expansion outside Europe”.

And recent weeks have seen the company’s continued efforts down this path. Last week, it confirmed it is in talks with Airtel about the acquisition of units in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone, and prior to this set up a separate holding company for its operations across the Middle East and Africa.

In a statement, the operator said the move is indicative of its “development strategy outside Europe, and supports the Group’s ambition to reinforce its presence in Africa and Middle East”.

Meditel will now be fully consolidated in the financial statement of Orange Group.