UAE telecoms group Etisalat, which is eyeing a stake in Kuwait's Zain, said on November 11 it will create an $8 billion bond programme in the coming few days. Etisalat will establish a $7 billion global medium-term note (GMTN) programme and a $1 billion sukuk programme, which will allow it to issue conventional or Islamic bonds when needed, it said in a statement on the bourse website.
Etisalat, formerly known as Emirates Telecommunications Co, is finalising loan facilities worth $12 billion from a club of around 12 banks to cover the cost of its planned 46 percent acquisition of Zain, banking sources close to the deal have said.
The company, advised by Morgan Stanley and National Bank of Kuwait, offered in September to buy the Zain stake for 1.7 dinars ($6.07) a share. Etisalat, which operates in 18 countries including Egypt and India but derives 85 percent of its income from domestic operations in the United Arab Emirates, is among Gulf telecom operators looking to expand overseas after losing their monopoly at home.
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