Ooredoo, formally Qtel, has lined up a US$12bn loan ahead of its bid for Vivendi’s majority stake in Maroc Telecom, bankers working on the deal said according to Reuters.
10 banks will reportedly provide the loan: Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Barclays,…
Ooredoo, formally Qtel, has lined up a US$12bn loan ahead of its bid for Vivendi’s majority stake in Maroc Telecom, bankers working on the deal said according to Reuters.
10 banks will reportedly provide the loan: Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Barclays, Citigroup, Development Bank of Singapore, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Qatar National Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Although the US$12bn loan is aimed at covering the full purchase price, the deal size might eventually be lower, according to one of the sources.
Meanwhile, UAE-based Etisalat, the other bidder for Maroc Telecom, is rumoured to be in talks with up to 16 banks to secure an US$8bn loan.
Until a few days ago, South Korea’s KT Corp was also among the prospective buyers. But the company decided to withdraw from the process because of a ‘big difference’ between the sell-side and KT Corp with regards to the valuation of the asset, a person close to the matter told TelecomFinance.
However, the company will still consider investment opportunities in Maroc Telecom in the future, the source added.
Reports have suggested that Etisalat and Ooredoo have long been considered the two frontrunners given their knowledge of the Moroccan market and available financial backing for their bids.
Etisalat is being advised by BNP Paribas, and Oooredoo has hired JP Morgan. Bids are due at the end of April.
Vivendi is expected to raise around €5.5bn (US$7.4bn) from the sale of its stake in the Moroccan telco, which would help cut its debt.
The French media and telecoms conglomerate launched a strategic review of its operations last year and sales processes for two of its three telecoms units: GVT in Brazil and Maroc Telecom. But the sale of GVT was suspended last month after US satellite broadcaster DirecTV pulled out of the process.
