Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has advised telecommunications group Orange on the establishment of its joint venture (JV), Hexadone. The JV is 60% owned by Orange, the digital network and services operator, and 40% by Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts group).
Hexadone, whose services will be launched in the first half of 2023, will offer local authorities an open, secure and interoperable platform for the aggregation, structuring, use and enhancement of data from their territories. The platform is aimed in particular at medium-sized towns, governmental departments or inter-municipal associations.
"With Stephenson Harwood's strategic focus on areas including decarbonisation, technology, and transportation and trade, we were ideally-placed to advise on this deal," said Guillaume Briant, partner, Stephenson Harwood. "This project will see data used for a host of beneficial reasons, including to improve the safety of travel, to promote sustainability, and to identify heat and cool islands to adapt to climate change, and better manage waste – all aspects which fall under these growing areas of expertise within our firm. This is the second JV in less than a year on which our team has advised Orange, which is testament to our ability to advise on strategically significant, and complex, matters of this kind."
The Stephenson Harwood team was led by partner Guillaume Briant, who was supported by associate Ali Hilass and Opale Malet.