Japanese mobile operator Softbank is looking to raise Y550bn (US$6.8bn) in a three-year amortisation term loan to refinance the remainder of a Y1.45tr (US$18bn) facility completed in 2006, according to reports.
That debt was incurred to buy mobile…
Japanese mobile operator Softbank is looking to raise Y550bn (US$6.8bn) in a three-year amortisation term loan to refinance the remainder of a Y1.45tr (US$18bn) facility completed in 2006, according to reports.
That debt was incurred to buy mobile businesses. Softbank will also reportedly use cash-in-hand to pay the remainder of that facility. The amount outstanding is reportedly Y745.5bn (US$9bn).
Reports explain that Mizuho will act as lead manager, while Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Deutsche Bank may also be in the syndicate. Overall, 20 Japanese and international banks may join the deal.
The loan will reportedly offer a margin of 112.5bp over Tibor.
It had been previously reported that Softbank could raise up to Y1tr in senior debt to refinance the 2006 facility. In an email to TelecomFinance in mid-May, a spokesperson confirmed that a refinancing would take place during their financial year 2011 but declined to comment further.
A month ago, Softbank announced it was planning to issue Y130bn (US$1.6bn) worth of unsecured bonds.
The issuance is split between a Y100bn (US$1.2bn) five-year bond with a 1% coupon rate and a Y30bn (US$374m) three-year bond with a coupon of 0.65%.
The bonds will be used to redeem bonds, repay borrowings and carry out “payments relating to the December 2010 acquisition of preferred stock issued by a consolidated subsidiary”, a Softbank statement read.
The underwriters of the Y100bn bond were Nomura, Daiwa, SMBC Nikko, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, Mizuho, SBI, Okasan, Cosmo, and Tokai Tokyo Securities.
The underwriters for the Y30bn were Mizuho, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, and Barclays Capital.
