UK mobile operator Everything Everywhere is planning to pay back £875m of loans to its JV owners as it transitions itself towards operating as an independent financial entity, TelecomFinance has confirmed.
Several banks have been approached to…
UK mobile operator Everything Everywhere is planning to pay back £875m of loans to its JV owners as it transitions itself towards operating as an independent financial entity, TelecomFinance has confirmed.
Several banks have been approached to support the move, helping it to also launch an independent bond next year for as much £800m, according to a person briefed on the matter, confirming an FT report that cited banking sources.
The proposed relationship banks are tipped to be HSBC, RBS, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Lloyds, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi and JP Morgan.
Everything Everywhere, which was established in 2010 from the merger of France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom’s UK assets, declined to comment on the speculation.
However, a spokesperson for the company said: “Everything Everywhere is considering external financing options, including a mix of bank financing and, at a later stage, bond financing.
“This is part of normal business and financial management undertaken by any company. Discussions with potential lenders are progressing according to plan and further information will be shared in due course.”
Asked whether the JV’s owners could follow up on the move towards financial independence by fully exiting the company via an IPO or a sale, a spokeswoman for Deutsche Telekom said it was fully committed to the joint venture with France Telecom.
“Currently there are no plans to exit this joint venture,” she said.
A France Telecom spokeswoman also reaffirmed that it “has no plans to change its current shareholding arrangement with Deutsche Telekom regarding Everything Everywhere”.
