Bharti secures Zain Africa finance

Bharti Airtel has successfully raised US$8.3 billion from international banks for the acquisition of Zain’s African assets, with the funding over-subscribed. The Indian and Kuwaiti operators are in exclusive talks until March 25, this coming Thursday, over the proposed sale of the African operations excluding Sudan and Morocco.

The details of Bharti’s proposal puts the enterprise value at US$10.7 billion, with an equity value of roughly US$9 million. Of the purchase price, US$10 billion is planned to be paid upon closing the deal, with a further US$700 million due one year later.

The proposal is subject to due diligence, customary regulatory approvals and signing of final transaction documentation. The leading operator in India said the loan is a term facility with the average maturity of just less than five years.

The lead advisor for US$7.5 billion of financing is Standard Chartered Bank with Barclays the joint lead advisor. Other banks involved are the State Bank of India (SBI Group), ANZ, BNP, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole CIB, DBS, HSBC, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Additionally, SBI Group will loan a rupee equivalent of up to US$1 billion, which would partly cover associated transaction costs.