BUCHAREST, Romania-Romanian GSM operator Mobifon, which operates under the Connex brand, announced the closing of a US$300 million senior loan facility led and arranged by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The news brought welcome relief to Mobifon’s majority owner Telesystem International Wireless, which has been struggling under a heavy debt load (see related news under “International”).
“This senior loan facility is the largest private sector loan in Romania since reforms began in the early 1990s,” said Noreen Doyle, the EBRD’s first vice president.
“The success of the syndication illustrates the growing confidence that lenders have in providing long-term finance to well-managed, strong companies in the Romanian private sector,” added Doyle.
The six-year senior loan financing consists of an EBRD loan of US$230 million, of which US$120 million was provided by international commercial banks. ABN AMRO Bank and Bank Austria Creditanstalt acted as joint mandated arrangers and underwriters of the commercial bank syndication. Co-lenders include ABN AMRO Bank, Bank Austria Creditanstalt, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij Voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), Raiffeisen Zentralbank Oesterreich, Citibank, Nordea and International Finance Participation Trust.
Connex will use the proceeds from the loan to repay all existing debt and to fund its continued growth.
