UAE operator Etisalat has completed the listing of its US$7bn global medium term note programme on the Irish stock exchange.
The programme, which enables the company to issue one or more series of conventional bonds in any currency, comes a few days…
UAE operator Etisalat has completed the listing of its US$7bn global medium term note programme on the Irish stock exchange.
The programme, which enables the company to issue one or more series of conventional bonds in any currency, comes a few days after state-controlled Etisalat agreed to buy Vivendi’s 53% stake in Maroc Telecom for €4.1bn.
Moody’s rated the programme Aa3, Standard & Poor’s gave AA- and Fitch A+.
To finance the deal, Etisalat recently signed a €3.15bn (US$4.36bn) loan agreement with 17 local, regional and international banks, €2.1bn of which comes in form of a bridge loan, which will soon be replaced with a bond.
Fitch also rated the €2.1bn bond an expected A+.
Earlier this week, Etisalat made an offer for the remaining minority shareholdings in Maroc Telecom, as per Moroccan takeover rules. The Kingdom of Morocco has a 30% holding in the incumbent, while the remaining 17% of shares are in free float.
