Published: December 14, 2012
Funds will go on debt repayment as well as general corporate purposes.
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has announced the pricing of US$1bn in senior unsecured notes. The programme was established on the Irish Stock Exchange last week.
The notes mature on 21 February 2023, have a coupon of 3.25% (1.75% over the 10-year US Treasury rate) and are fully guaranteed by Qtel. The money will go towards general corporate purposes and debt refinancing.
The issue was arranged by a syndicate of joint lead arrangers comprising Barclays, HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Mizuho Securities, Morgan Stanley and QNB Capital.
It’s been a busy second half of 2012 for Qtel. In November the company closed its debut Islamic loan deal, a US$500mn 18-month Murabahah provided by Qatar Islamic Bank. This is in light of efforts to expand the company’s business in the MENA region, partly through taking advantage of asset disposals by European companies.
The company is reportedly in talks to acquire a 53% stake in Morocco’s biggest fixed-line and mobile operator Maroc Telecom, which is being offloaded by French conglomerate Vivendi.