Qtel has confirmed that it is looking to acquire Vivendi’s controlling stake in Maroc Telecom. Separately, the company also announced a new US$500m loan.
In an interview with Arabian Business, Nasser Marafih, group CEO of the Qatari telco, said about…
Qtel has confirmed that it is looking to acquire Vivendi’s controlling stake in Maroc Telecom. Separately, the company also announced a new US$500m loan.
In an interview with Arabian Business, Nasser Marafih, group CEO of the Qatari telco, said about a potential Maroc Telecom deal: “It’s still very early stages. It’s something that if it’s available we would be interested to discuss”.
Last month Qtel had refused to answer questions about the rumoured acquisition of a 51% stake in Morocco’s largest operator during a conference call to discuss its nine-month results on 22 October.
Secures US$500m loan from QIB
In a statement today, Qtel also confirmed a US$500m loan from Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), which is the sole mandated lead arranger and investment agent for the 18-month shariah-compliant ‘revolving murabaha’ loan.
CEO Marafih said in the statement: “We are delighted to be part of the developing Islamic financing market in Qatar. QIB has done a great job in offering Qtel attractive terms, and this deal further strengthens the relationship between Qtel and QIB.”
“This deal is the first financing arrangement to be entered into with Qtel, opening doors for further avenues of collaboration between the two organisations,” said Ahmad Meshari, acting CEO of QIB. “The transaction is another demonstration of the maturity of the Islamic finance industry in general, and QIB in particular, in the provision of credible financial solutions that meet the increasingly complex needs of large corporations such as Qtel.”
It was reported last week that the telco was seeking US$1bn financing.
Despite the coinciding of the two announcements, an analyst with close knowledge of the company told TelecomFinance it was unlikely today’s loan would be linked to the possible acquisition.
“The Maroc Telecom transaction would cost between US$7-8bn,” the analyst said. “Qtel reported it has US$4.5bn in cash in Q3, but they still need to pay almost US$2bn for their stake hike in [Kuwaiti telco] Wataniya.
“So they will have US$2.5bn in cash and they are raising US$1bn now, but they will still need another US$4bn,” he continued. “I don’t think this US$1bn is anything to do with Maroc Telecom as they will need far bigger financing.”
The analyst added that he expected Qtel to issue more bonds if they needed to finance the deal. “Historically their bond issues have a very good response,” he said.
