Zain Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s third-largest mobile operator, has initiated talks with banks to refinance a US$2.5bn Islamic facility maturing in late July, according to Reuters citing sources close to the deal.
The report comes two months after…
Zain Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s third-largest mobile operator, has initiated talks with banks to refinance a US$2.5bn Islamic facility maturing in late July, according to Reuters citing sources close to the deal.
The report comes two months after the company gained consent from investors to extend the maturity of the loan by six months to July.
Zain originally sealed this Islamic financing in August 2009 to replace a previous US$2.5bn loan that helped finance its acquisition of Saudi Arabia’s third mobile licence. Al Rajhi Capital, Banque Saudi Fransi and Credit Agricole acted as financial advisers.
But recent financial losses reportedly forced Zain to first extend the maturity of the loan and now to refinance it.
In a recent notice to the Saudi Stock Exchange, the company confirmed that it “incurred net loss for the year ended 31 December 2011 and its current liabilities exceeded its current assets.”
Zain added at the time that it believes “it will be successful in meeting its obligations in the normal course of operations and its efforts in securing the necessary funding which is conditional to the company’s capital restructuring.”
