Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has signed MoUs with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Ericsson to arrange a ten-year US$650m financing in order to buy network equipment from the two vendors.
In a notice to the Saudi Stock Exchange, the mobile…
Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has signed MoUs with Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and Ericsson to arrange a ten-year US$650m financing in order to buy network equipment from the two vendors.
In a notice to the Saudi Stock Exchange, the mobile operator said that it will work closely with the export credit agency of Finland (Finnvera) and the Swedish export credit corporation (SEK) to complete the shariah-compliant transaction.
It added that the proposed ECA financing is the first of its kind for Saudi Arabia’s telecoms sector and would have a positive impact on the company’s free cash flow.
Mobily has mandated Credit Agricole and Deutsche Bank to structure and arrange the Islamic financing. Latham & Watkins is acting as legal counsel for the mobile operator while Allen & Overy is advising the lenders.
The carrier said it will continue to seek similar financings in the future.