Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel is planning to issue US dollar and euro denominated senior unsecured notes to refinance its existing foreign currency debt.
The US dollar tranche will have an expected tenure of 10 years while the euro tranche will…
Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel is planning to issue US dollar and euro denominated senior unsecured notes to refinance its existing foreign currency debt.
The US dollar tranche will have an expected tenure of 10 years while the euro tranche will have a seven-year maturity.
The telco did not disclose the size of the offering.
Moody’s rated the proposed issue Baa3, while Standard & Poor’s and Fitch both gave a BBB- rating, at the same level as Bharti’s foreign-currency senior unsecured rating.
Explaining the drivers behind the rating, Fitch said although the BBB- would not be able to withstand significant debt-funded acquisitions or higher-than-expected regulatory costs, it expects the company to benefit from less harsh competition.
“The February 2014 spectrum auctions should hasten industry consolidation, strengthen tariffs and reduce regulatory risks. In the medium term, we expect the bottom six telcos to exit the industry as they lack sufficient spectrum and financial resources to remain viable,” Fitch said.
In April, local reports suggested that Bharti was looking to raise US$2bn via new bond offerings within the financial year ending March 2015. The first series was expected to be issued overseas in May or June and be worth around US$400m.
Over the past few months, the operator has raised €1bn and SFr350m in bonds to reduce its US dollar debt exposure.
As of 31 March 2014, Bharti’s net debt stood at Rs709bn (US$11.9bn).
