Etisalat, the UAE telecoms group, is said to be seeking banks to arrange its very first bond offering, the proceeds of which will be used to buy a majority stake in Maroc Telecom.
The company is close to completing the purchase of a 53% stake in the…
Etisalat, the UAE telecoms group, is said to be seeking banks to arrange its very first bond offering, the proceeds of which will be used to buy a majority stake in Maroc Telecom.
The company is close to completing the purchase of a 53% stake in the Moroccan incumbent from Vivendi for €4.2bn and recently signed a two-tranche €3.15bn debt facility to finance the move.
The first tranche is a €2.1bn 12-month bridge loan while the second tranche is a €1.05bn bullet term loan.
Citing sources, IFR said the bond would be used to replace the bridge loan.
Etisalat could not be reached for comment.
The rest of the purchase price will be funded by an Abu Dhabi state-owned fund, most likely to be Mubadala, according to an earlier report.
The sale of Maroc Telecom by Vivendi is expected to close on 14 May.
Once completed, Etisalat will transfer its operations in six West African countries for US$650m to the Moroccan operator. Analysts suggested that the rationale behind the move has been motivated by Maroc Telecom’s success with its own subsidiaries in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Mali and Mauritania.
