Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil has mandated banks to arrange a E£1bn (E130,5) bridge loan, reports Bloomberg.
Commercial International Bank (CIB), National Societe Generale Bank and the National Bank of Egypt are the lenders. The loan will reportedly…
Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil has mandated banks to arrange a E£1bn (E130,5) bridge loan, reports Bloomberg.
Commercial International Bank (CIB), National Societe Generale Bank and the National Bank of Egypt are the lenders. The loan will reportedly be repaid with a E£2bn medium-term loan from the local banks.
The value of the bridge loan is half that of the reported £2bn (E247m) the company said it was seeking last month, in a bid to finance the expansion of its network and services.
At the time, CEO Hassan Kabbani was quoted saying that the size of the loan would depend on market conditions as well as negotiations with Commercial International Bank (CIB) and National Bank of Egypt. He said that the loan would finance 3G expansion and upgrades of its mobile network, as well as improvements to its ISP LinkdotNet.
Mobinil has reached the limit imposed by the central bank for a company to raise loans because the debt of its shareholder, Orascom Telecom, is also taken into account. But the mobile operator is seeking exemption from this limit on the grounds that its financial accounts had been incorporated into those of its other main shareholder, France Telecom.
Mobinil was unavailable for comment by press time.
