du Refinances Existing Debt Facilities

Beneficial terms save the company $9million

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (“du”) has announced three separate financing deals amounting to $1.17 billion. These are a combination of refinancing existing debt facilities on more favourable terms coupled with an additional $250m of new facilities to finance future Capital Expenditure. The move lowers the company’s funding costs, saving approximately $9 million over the term of the loan due to the favourable margins agreed with the banks involved.

Osman Sultan, du’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We have taken the opportunity of the historical low interest rate environment to refinance some of our existing debt and have been able to negotiate very favourable terms strengthening our balance sheet further. In addition, as we continue to roll out our data offerings, we have secured additional financing for our capital expenditure programme, again at very competitive rates. The structure of this financing will save us $9 million in costs, increasing shareholder value and providing scope for future growth.”

Refinancing Breakdown
The refinancing represents a $720 million Club Deal provided by ADCB, NBAD and Samba Financial Group that will replace two existing debt facilities:
$220 million three-year loan due to expire in June
$500 million five-year facility due to expire 2017
The club deal is a five years facility at a margin of 120 basis points (bps) over the London interbank offered rate (Libor), and an all-in cost of 140 bps, saving the company $7m over the five years.
The new funding terms follows the recent announcement of du’s financial results for the full year and the fourth quarter of 2013, which showed another year of solid performance for the company on all main indicators:, revenue, EBITDA and Net Profit.. By continuing to review its financial arrangements and invest in the business, du strives to deliver consistently excellent service for customers, generate long term value for all shareholders, and contribute to the growth of the UAE’s economy.