Etisalat Nigeria, the country’s fourth-largest mobile operator, has signed a US$1.2bn medium-term syndicated loan facility, according to a notice to the Abu Dhabi exchange.
The facility, which has both naira and US dollar tranches, was secured from a…
Etisalat Nigeria, the country’s fourth-largest mobile operator, has signed a US$1.2bn medium-term syndicated loan facility, according to a notice to the Abu Dhabi exchange.
The facility, which has both naira and US dollar tranches, was secured from a consortium of 13 banks. Some of the proceeds will be used to refinance an existing US$650m commercial medium term facility.
The US$650m loan, signed in March 2011, was provided by First Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, United Bank for Africa, Bank PHB, Guaranty Trust Bank and Oceanic Bank. At the time, Etisalat Nigeria said the money would help support its national network expansion plans.
Part of the proceeds from the new US$1.2bn facility will also go towards its network rollout across Nigeria.
Wael Ammar, Etisalat Nigeria’s COO, recently said that the company is looking to add four million subscribers to the 15 million it currently has.
The operator, which is 40%-owned by UAE-based Etisalat, lags behind MTN, Glo Mobile and Airtel in Nigeria.
