France Telecom turns Orange

France Telecom has announced that it will complete a long running process, and become solely known as Orange from the end of June 2013.

Since 2006, the group has gradually simplified its visual identity in France and internationally. Orange is now the brand used by all of the group’s commercial operations (fixed, mobile, TV and Internet) and corporate activities.

As part of the process, the name of the shares on the stock market will also be Orange (ticker symbol ORA).

The move to drop the France Telecom name completely was approved annual shareholders’ meeting.

The Orange brand name was originally coined by a UK mobile network in 1994, when it was a Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary. The Orange brand was expanded to other Hutchison subsidiaries, but in 1999, the UK network was sold to Germany’s Mannesmann.

That sale to the German company triggered a hostile takeover bid by Vodafone for the German firm, which was approved by regulators on condition that Vodafone sold the Orange UK mobile network.

Vodafone was successful in its takeover bid – and later sold Orange UK to France Telecom in August 2000.

In 2001, the French mobile network was rebranded as Orange and in 2006, this was expanded to France Telecom’s domestic Internet services. At the same time it was announced that the Orange name would be adopted by all the French company’s consumer facing operations. The historic landline services were finally rebranded last year.

Over the past few years, the company has been increasingly referred to as France Telecom-Orange, but has now finally dropped the French part of the name.