TheCable

MTN Nigeria has signed a seven-year N200 billion loan from a consortium of seven banks to fund emerging businesses in Nigeria.

Ferdi Moolman, MTN Nigeria CEO, signed the agreement at the law offices of Aluko & Oyebode in Lagos on Friday.

According to him, the agreement is with a consortium of seven mostly local banks, with Citibank acting as coordinator and Quantum Zenith as facility agent.

Moolman said the loan would help MTN fund its evolving business opportunities while assisting with capital expenditure and working capital to deliver enhanced customer service.

This is the second N200 billion loan the telco would be taking in 10 months as it signed one in August with a consortium of 12 banks.

“This facility expands our existing successful domestic debt programme which we are using to fund increased network capacity, and the expansion of both the Voice and Data services on our network to customers in new areas, and with new next-generation services,” Moolman said.

“We have enjoyed remarkable funding support from Nigeria’s financial institutions since our first facility in 2003 and this has been critical to the development of one of the largest telecoms network in Africa, with over 60 million subscribers.

“I am delighted that, so soon after our successful listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, we are able to compliment it with such an important addition to our portfolio of debt.”

He explained that the facility was structured with a two-year moratorium and a repayment plan of seven years and was denominated in Naira.

He said that this was the eighth syndicated loan agreement by MTN in Nigeria since its inception 18 years ago.

He listed the providers of the facility as a syndicate of banks made up of Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, First City Monument Bank, United Bank for Africa and First Bank.