TheCable

Etisalat Nigeria says it is still in discussions with banks regarding existing multi-billion naira debt obligations under the syndicated loan agreement signed in 2013.

The telco said it has not received any formal communication from the lenders regarding the proposal.

“Whilst we are aware of recent news reports stating that the offer has been rejected by the banks, we cannot confirm this as true as no formal communication has been received from the banks regarding the proposal,” Etisalat said via a statement on Monday.

Earlier, a consortium of commercial banks in Nigeria had sought to take over Etisalat Nigeria,on the grounds that the telecoms giant was unable to meet its financial obligations to the lenders to the tune of over N500 billion.

The take over was halted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The company said it has “so far held robust discussions with lenders in good faith, and we hope that all areas of discord will be resolved in due course”.

“Indeed the current economic challenges have occasioned untold hardship on the telecom industry as a whole, thus requiring a major shift in position by all affected parties.

“We continue to explore all available options to pull through this phase. We will continue to engage all relevant parties in earnest with a view to securing a mutually agreeable outcome.”

The company added that ongoing deliberations will not impact the company negatively.

“Furthermore, we are not taking anything off the table at this time, and Etisalat assures all stakeholders that the ongoing discussions are not intended nor expected to impact negatively on the company’s ability to continue providing seamless communications services to our subscribers.

“Etisalat will continue to focus on providing uninterrupted services to subscribers on our network.”