ECMS’ parent company Mobinil said it paid an instalment of E£750m (US$138m) for its 3G licence.
The payment was made thanks to Mobinil’s recent E£1.5bn (US$275m) bond issue, which was advised, arranged and underwritten by EFG Hermes.
A spokesperson…
ECMS’ parent company Mobinil said it paid an instalment of E£750m (US$138m) for its 3G licence.
The payment was made thanks to Mobinil’s recent E£1.5bn (US$275m) bond issue, which was advised, arranged and underwritten by EFG Hermes.
A spokesperson said Mobinil still owes a payment of E£750m for its licence, which was due in January 2009, and a tail end payment of E£1.1bn (US$203m) due in December this year.
The bond issue was Egypt’s largest in 2009 and the first to be fully underwritten by an Egyptian investment bank, EFG investment banking head Karim Awad said in a statement.
The five-year bonds had a fixed annual yield of 12.25% payable every six months. They were issued in two tranches, a E£1.4bn private tranche targeted at institutional investors and a E£100m public tranche targeting retail investors.
Mobinil’s link with the indebted Orascom prevented it from tapping the banking market as Egyptian laws cap the amount banks can lend to a single client.
Mobinil, which owns 51% of ECMS, Egypt’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, previously said that the transaction would help cover expenses including its 3G licence and potential acquisitions as its potential purchase of LinkDotNet.
Mobinil acquired the 15-year 3G licence in 2007 for E£3.4bn, in addition to 2.4% of its total annual revenues.
ECMS is 29% listed on the stock exchange and 20% owned by Orascom. Mobinil is a 72/29 venture of France Telecom and Orascom.
