| MTS Secures ECA Financing |
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21/11/2009 11:50 (79 Day 22:21 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (“MTS” – NYSE: MBT), the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS, announces that it has secured a credit facility in the amount of up to approximately $1,074 million backed by Sweden’s Export Credit Agency EKN1 to be used for the development of the Company’s mobile networks through purchases of equipment from Ericsson, the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators.
The facility will have two tranches; the first tranche will be in the amount of up to $428.9 million with a maturity in June 2019; the second tranche of up to $645.5 with a maturity in September 2020. The facility will have an annual interest rate of LIBOR+1.15%. The amounts to be drawn by the Company will be linked to the equipment purchases over the course of the next couple of years.
The banks facilitating the transaction are Calyon, ING Bank N.V. and Nordea Bank AB as Original Mandated Lead Arrangers with Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG as a Mandated Lead Arranger.
Mikhail Shamolin, President and CEO of MTS, commented, “The terms and size of the loan that we were able to secure provide us with the necessary flexibility in our CAPEX plans going forward as we build out our networks to provide quality services to our subscribers. Our goal is to capture growth in both voice and data markets by executing on our 3i Strategy, and we look to companies such as Ericsson to provide us with the necessary tools to maximize the benefits we derive from our networks as we launch innovative new services.”
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