Etisalat’s $2.34bn Islamic bridge financing facility
National Commercial Bank, Samba Financial Group, Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation, Citibank, Emirates Bank, Kuwait Finance House, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Bank Al Jazira were mandated lead arrangers
In the largest ever Islamic transaction and one of the largest corporate financing transactions ever done in Saudi Arabia, a $2.343bn Islamic bridge financing facility was arranged partly to finance mobile cellular licence fees payable by the Etisalat Consortium to the Saudi Commission for Information Technology and Communications, and partly to finance Etisalat’s working capital needs. The Etisalat Consortium is a joint venture company between Emirates Telecommunications Corporation and a number of Saudi investors.
The facility consists of a $1.59bn 12-month term loan, guaranteed by the consortium members, and a $753m 12-month non-recourse facility.
Despite its size, the diverse shareholding structure of the borrower and the Islamic structuring challenges, the financing was arranged and completed in record time, which was crucial to the client’s obligations under the bidding process.
