Etisalat Group issues 1 billion euro bonds

ABU DHABI: Etisalat Group has announced the successful completion of a bond issuance worth one billion euros to refinance the maturing bond tranche it had issued in 2014 for the acquisition of a controlling stake in Maroc Telecom.

Etisalat Group issued bonds in two tranches, the first is a 7-years tranche amounting to 500 million euros with an annual yield of 0.4 per cent, the Group said in a statement on Sunday.

The second tranche is for a period of 12-years amounts to 500 million euros with an annual yield of 1 per cent.

The refinancing decision aims to diversify the company’s sources of funds and extending the repayment schedule of existing debt while taking benefit of improved cost of funding thereby maximising shareholders value. The bond issuance was very successful as it witnessed a remarkable demand from local and international investors with being 6 times oversubscribed.

This high demand reflects investors’ confidence in Etisalat Group’s performance, strong financial profile and credit ratings; Aa3 stable (Moody’s) and AA- Stable (S&P Global), one of the highest rating in the industry. This also highlights the growing confidence of international investors in the UAE economy.

Etisalat has announced recently that customers on elife Unlimited plans would get a free broadband speed upgrade until the end of July.

Etisalat is commited to keeping the UAE at the forefront of telecommunications worldwide, delivering customers the fastest mobile network experience on earth.