Telekom Slovenije secures €300m loan

Slovenian operator Telekom Slovenije has signed a €300m (US$342m) syndicated long-term loan agreement to improve its funding sources structure and refinance bonds that mature at the end of 2016.

Slovenian operator Telekom Slovenije (LJSE:TLSG) has signed a €300m (US$342m) syndicated long-term loan agreement to improve its funding sources structure and refinance bonds that mature at the end of 2016.

The mandated lead arrangers were NLB, SKB Banka and Société Générale. Others banks in the syndicate were Abanka, Banka Koper, SID Banka and UniCredit Banka Slovenija.

The loan is split into three equal tranches of €100m: tranche A has a seven-year maturity and principal repayment in 13 equal semi-annual installments; tranche B has a five-year maturity and a bullet principal repayment; and tranche C has a two-year maturity and a bullet principal repayment.

“The loan does not represent an increase in the company’s indebtedness”, said Rudolf Skobe, president of the management board of Telekom Slovenije.

“With this loan, Telekom Slovenije has significantly reduced the refinancing risk and enhanced the safety of the operations,” he continued.

State-owned Telekom Slovenije is Slovenia’s largest mobile operator. The company is also present in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

Last year, the Slovenian operator was reported to be among the bidders for Serbia’s Telekom Srbija. But in December, Serbia’s Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic announced that all six offers for the incumbent had been rejected, as they were deemed too low.

Telekom Slovenije generated €200.8m (US$229m) in EBITDA in 2015, which is 18% more than in 2014, while its net profit amounted to €68.1m (US$77.7m). Its net sales was down 4% compared with 2014 to €729.5m (US$832m). Compared to 2014, its EBITDA margin improved by 22.2% to 27.5% in 2015.