Bharti Airtel to get a bridge loan of $4 Bn from SCB (India)

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Indian mobile operator, Bharti Airtel has secured a bridge loan of USD 4 billion for 1 year duration from Standard Chartered Bank to finance the acquisition of the stake in MTN South Africa. Standard Chartered has agreed to fully underwrite Bharti’s net acquisition cost.
In the end, Bharti Airtel will be making a net cash payment of around USD 4 billion to acquire a 49% stake in MTN which will, in turn, call for a 36% economic interest in the Indian operator.
The bankers said that it was possible that Airtel might also use some cash from internal accruals, taking the bridge come down. A Bharti Airtel spokesperson said that the company has not decided on the specifics of funding for this proposed transaction.