A Y165bn (US$2bn) five-year loan for Japanese telco eAccess, the parent company of mobile operator EMobile, has been launched into syndication, TelecomFinance understands.
The lead arrangers for the credit facility, which pays 350bp over Tibor and…
A Y165bn (US$2bn) five-year loan for Japanese telco eAccess, the parent company of mobile operator EMobile, has been launched into syndication, TelecomFinance understands.
The lead arrangers for the credit facility, which pays 350bp over Tibor and matures in March 2016, are Credit Agricole, ING, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).
Banks in the syndication include international and Japanese lenders, some of which are existing relationship banks while others are newcomers. Participating banks are being offered tickets of Y15bn (US$180.5m).
The senior secured loan, which is payable quarterly, will be used to refinance a Y220bn (US$2.6bn) seven-year term loan that EMobile secured in 2006 prior to its merger with eAccess. At the time, the MLAs on that facility were ING, Aozora, Calyon, JPMorgan Chase, Mizuho, SMBC, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, RBS and Goldman Sachs.
Of that facility, the company still has Y190bn (US$2.3bn) in outstanding debt, which is expected to be reduced to Y165bn by March this year, TelecomFinance understands.
Last July, eAccess merged its operations with that of EMobile. As of December 2010, EMobile reportedly had about 2.9 million subscribers while eAccess had 2.1 million ADSL subscribers.
