Just before the end of 2012, Turk Telekom has secured loans totalling more than US$770m with Canadian and Chinese financial institutions to fund capital expenditure and further its long-term financing strategy.
The Istanbul-listed telco has signed a…
Just before the end of 2012, Turk Telekom has secured loans totalling more than US$770m with Canadian and Chinese financial institutions to fund capital expenditure and further its long-term financing strategy.
The Istanbul-listed telco has signed a €130m (US$170.4m) three-year loan agreement with credit agency Export Development Canada (EDC), it said in a late December stock exchange announcement. The loan has an interest rate of Euribor plus 300 basis points and will be used for capital expenditure.
Five days later, Turk Telekom disclosed that it has entered into two separate loans with China Development Bank.
A US$400m eight-year loan will form part of the company’s “long-term financing strategy”, the company stated. It has a two-year grace period and an interest rate of Libor plus 340 basis points.
A separate US$200m eight-year loan will be used to finance goods and services from Chinese supplier Huawei and additional capital expenditure. This loan has a 30-month grace period and an interest rate of Libor plus 285 basis points.
Turk Telekom tapped the loan market several times in 2012. The company signed a US$500m loan agreement with China Development Bank in February, a US$601m-plus loan with 13 banks in March and a €100m (US$127m) loan with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in July.
In November, the company disclosed that it has offered to buy 100% of the shares of Greek telco OTE’s Bulgarian units, Cosmo Bulgaria (Globul) and Germanos Telecom Bulgaria.
The Turkish government currently has a 31.68% stake in Turk Telekom, but has appointed a consortium of advisers to manage the potential sale of all or part of it.
