Etisalat, the Abu-Dhabi-based network operator, has asked banks to extend commitments on a US$8 billion loan which has been put aside to fund its acquisition of a majority stake in Moroccan operator Maroc Telecom.
HumanIPO reported in November Etisalat had finally reached an agreement with Vivendi for its 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom after more than six months of negotiations, but the deal has yet to be completed.
Etisalat hopes to complete the deal in January, but the banks facilitating the loan are currently not seeing any payment until it is completed.
“Banks have been on the hook for a long time and have not been paid anything for it,” one senior banker, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
“The protracted nature of this deal makes it a challenging proposition. This just hasn’t been the great M&A (merger and acquisition) fee event that it might have been.”
The loan is expected to cover the acquisition and any future shares that might need to be bought in a public tender.
