etisalat holds talks to extend $3b loan

London: etisalat is in talks with the lenders that provided its debut $3 billion syndicated loan in 2006, as it wants to roll the deal over for one year, a banking source said.

Discussions are at an early stage, the banker added.

The original 364-day revolving credit, signed in July 2006, included a one-year extension option and paid a margin of 22.5 basis points (bps) over the London interbank offered rate (Libor), rising to 25 bps for the second year.

The banker added that given the current market conditions, lenders will be looking at doubling the margin for the one-year rollover to around 50 bps.

etisalat used proceeds on the existing loan to help fund its expansion plans.

The joint underwriters and bookrunners were Barclays, which co-ordinated the deal, and Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and HSBC.