Etisalat to finance $12b loan for Kuwait's Zain, top official says

Dubai: Emirates Telecommunications, the biggest phone company in the UAE, plans to finance its $12 billion (Dh44 billion) offer for control of Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications, in three stages of loans.

"The first $6 billion will be a bridge loan, payable in 18 months," Chief Financial Officer Salem Al Sharhan said.

The Abu Dhabi-based company will also borrow $3 billion payable in three years and another $3 billion payable in five years, he said. The $6 billion bridge loan will be refinanced through bonds and sukuks, Al Sharhan said.

The company, also known as etisalat, has an agreement from 18 international and regional banks on the initial term-sheet for the loan, he said. The majority of the banks are international lenders with four regional players, including Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Emirates NBD, and National Bank of Kuwait, he said.

Etisalat is still in talks to reach an accord on its offer for a 46 per cent stake in Mobile Telecommunications, known as Zain and the country's biggest phone company, after it missed a January 15 deadline. If finalised, the deal will strengthen etisalat's presence in the Middle East, where Zain operates in countries from Kuwait and Iraq to Bahrain.

There is a "big chance" that all 18 banks will be involved in the financing, but the number might still change, Al Sharhan said.