Bharti Airtel has finalized $8.3 billion of funding for its acquisition of the African assets of Kuwait-based telecom major Zain. A consortium of banks led by Standard Chartered and Barclays would lend it $7.5 billion and State Bank of India (SBI) another $1 billion, a so-called rupee loan.
The financing was oversubscribed, with major international banks committing to underwrite the total amount. The company has opted for offshore loans over onshore loans owing to the good response from overseas banks. The dollar loan is expected to reduce risks involved in execution process.
Bharti is in exclusive discussions with Zain for the acquisition of the latter’s African unit — Zain Africa BV — based on an enterprise value of $10.7 billion. This potential transaction does not include Zain’s operations in Morocco and Sudan. The exclusivity period will last till March 25.