Etisalat pushes for debt deal

ABU TELECOMS group Etisalat might sell its stake in Etisalat Nigeria, which has defaulted on a $1.2 billion (R15.78bn) loan, but wants the company’s debt restructured before it does so, two sources said yesterday.

Nigeria’s central bank and telecoms regulator on Friday agreed with local banks to pursue a default deal rather than a receivership for Etisalat Nigeria so as not to deter investors and to avoid a wider debt crisis.

Etisalat was due to meet with creditors in Nigeria today or tomorrow, the source said.

It was not clear whether Etisalat, which has a 45 percent holding in Etisalat Nigeria after converting a loan to equity last month, would divest completely.

Ahmed Bin Ali, the senior vice-president of Etisalat, declined to comment while Etisalat Nigeria could not be reached.

Last week a banking source said that the Nigerian affiliate of Etisalat had given notice to its Nigerian lenders that it would miss a payment in February, but the two sides are yet to agree on terms.

Etisalat Nigeria signed a $1.2bn medium-term facility with 13 Nigerian banks in 2013, which it used to refinance an existing $650 million loan and modernise its network. But an economic downturn, a currency devaluation and dollar shortages on Nigeria’s interbank market led to it missing payment, Ibrahim Dikko, the vice president for regulatory affairs at Etisalat Nigeria, said.

The banks involved in the loan include: Zenith Bank , GT Bank, First Bank, UBA, Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank, FCMB, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Union Bank.