Bharti Airtel said it expects to pay around US$9bn for its potential acquisition of Zain Africa, when taking into account the net debt that the operations owe their parent company.
In a statement, the Indian operator said the African assets it has…
Bharti Airtel said it expects to pay around US$9bn for its potential acquisition of Zain Africa, when taking into account the net debt that the operations owe their parent company.
In a statement, the Indian operator said the African assets it has offered to buy for a value of US$10.7bn have an estimated net debt of US$1.7bn to Zain.
Of the amount to be paid, US$700m would be paid “after one year of closing,” Bharti said.
Reports yesterday suggested that Bharti, which currently has no debt, would fund the bulk of the deal by raising foreign currency loans. It has mandated Standard Chartered and Barclays to coordinate the financing.
TelecomFinance understands that the same two banks, which advised Bharti during last year’s merger attempt with MTN, are also advising Bharti on its talks with Zain.
According to media reports, Standard Chartered could lead funding efforts of roughly US$5bn, while other banks could include State Bank of India, Goldman Sachs and Nomura.
Bharti and Zain have set themselves until March 25 to settle a deal, which carries a US$150m penalty clause in case no agreement is reached.
