The loan is reportedly part of a club deal with 17 banks and is divided into two parts. The first part of the facility stands as a €2.1 billion, one-year bridge loan.
The second phase is a €1.05 billion three-year loan, and although it has been priced in euros, Etisalat said this can also be utilised in dollars.
The UAE-based operator is acquiring a 53% stake in Maroc Telecom from France’s Vivendi for a reported €4.2 billion, in a deal which was concluded in November last year.
Takeover rules from regulators in Morocco state that Etisalat must make a buyout offer for Maroc Telecom’s minority shareholders – meaning these shareholders are offered a different price per share to the deal itself – but Etisalat has not disclosed any details of this.
Sources told Reuters that the deal is expected to close this week.
