|
EBRD lend Kazakhstan’s Kar-Tel $100m
The syndicated loan will help expand mobile phone network in Kazakhstan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a syndicate of
commercial banks jointly led by the EBRD and Citigroup, is lending $100
million to KaR-Tel LLP, the second largest GSM mobile phone network operator
in Kazakhstan. The company operates under the brand names “Beeline” and
“K-mobile”.
The loan was jointly arranged by the EBRD and Citigroup. The EBRD is lender of
record for the full amount and is providing a five-year loan using $50 million
of its own funds. The remaining $50 million is being syndicated to 4
commercial banks, which are advancing three year loans under the EBRD’s A/B
loan structure. The syndicate group includes Citigroup, as Mandated Lead
Arranger and underwriter of the B Loan, Bayerische Hypo-Und Vereinsbank AG,
Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG and Nordea Bank AB, as Senior Lead
Manager, Lead Manager and Manager respectively.
This is the first investment by the EBRD in Kazakhstan’s rapidly growing
mobile telecoms sector. It is expected not only to improve competition but
also to bring mobile communication services within the reach of a growing
number of people in both urban and rural areas of Kazakhstan, said Izzet
Güney, Director of the EBRD’s Telecoms, Informatics and Media group.
KaR-Tel has offered mobile telecoms services in Kazakhstan since 1999. Its
license entitles it to work all over the country. As of end-September 2005 it
had over 1.6 million customers. The company’s strategy now is to grow its
share of a rapidly growing and increasingly competitive market by enhancing
network coverage with 900 new base stations and a new mobile switching centre
as well as introducing new and more sophisticated services. The EBRD’s
long-term funding will refinance the company’s existing costly short-term
borrowings and finance capital expenditure.
KaR-Tel is majority owned and controlled by VimpelCom, Russia’s second largest
mobile operator. VimpelCom, which has over 40 million subscribers and has been
listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1996, operates in Russia under the
brand name “Beeline”.
|
