The UAE’s Etisalat is planning to borrow US$8bn, broken down into US$7bn in medium term notes and US$1bn in sukuk.
In a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the telco said that it was planning the issue to allow it to: “Access a large pool of…
The UAE’s Etisalat is planning to borrow US$8bn, broken down into US$7bn in medium term notes and US$1bn in sukuk.
In a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the telco said that it was planning the issue to allow it to: “Access a large pool of global investors to diversify its funding sources and manage its debt maturity profile efficiently.” It said it will now have the “flexibility to issue conventional and/or Islamic securities within the international debt markets across multiple tenors and currencies when needed”.
Local newspaper The National reported that the group’s CFO, Salem Ali al Sharhan, said that the two programmes would be listed on the London Stock Exchange. He also denied Reuters reports that the company was talking to 12 banks about borrowing US$1bn each to pay for its acquisition of Zain, and refused to be drawn on how the funds from the bond programmes would be used.
Meanwhile, Moody’s told subscribers that it was placing Etisalat on review for a possible downgrade over its proposed takeover of Zain. The statement read: “Today’s rating action was prompted by Etisalat’s recent announcement that its proposal to acquire 51% of Zain for a total purchase price of approximately US$12bn has now become binding.”
Having downgraded Etisalat in March from Aa2 to Aa3, the agency said: “The Zain transaction represents a large, potentially highly leveraged acquisition that could increase the company’s risk profile and leverage, as it is by far the company’s largest acquisition over recent years.”
Earlier this week one of Zain’s shareholders, Kuwaiti private equity firm al-Fawares Holdings, threatened the Kuwaiti incumbent with legal action if it opened its books to Etisalat.
