Oman Investment Fund (OIF) has closed the syndication of $600 million of conventional and Islamic facilities for its wholly owned subsidiary United Telecommunication Limited (UTL).

The proceeds of the transaction were used towards the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Oman Telecommunications Company SAOG (“Omantel”) from the Ministry of Finance of the Sultanate of Oman. The transfer of the 51 per cent stake in Omantel was disclosed on the Muscat Stock Exchange.

The facilities raised by UTL have a 5.25 year tenor, split between a conventional facility of $450 million and an Islamic facility of $150 million.

The financing was initially provided to UTL on a sole basis by Citi as initial Underwriter to meet the timeline to close and fund the acquisition of the 51 per cent stake in Omantel. Subsequent to this, Banca IMI/ Intesa Sanpaolo, Kuwait Finance House and National Bank of Abu Dhabi joined the transaction as Underwriters and Bookrunners.

General syndication was launched in February and received an overwhelming response from the market despite tight pricing. The transaction ultimately was more than 2x oversubscribed as it received significant interest from banks in Asia in addition to Middle Eastern and International banks.

Hassan Al-Nabhani, CEO of the Oman Investment Fund, said: “We are extremely pleased to have received such overwhelming support initially from Citi and subsequently from the incoming syndicate bank group. The fact that the transaction had such strong demand and was ultimately oversubscribed is a testament to the continued demand for Omani credit in the bank market and reflects the high creditworthiness of OIF and Omantel.”

Nigel Govett, CFO of Oman Investment Fund, said: “OIF is proud of the new relationships it has managed to build with strong partners in the Far East and to continue the trusting relationship with existing banks. Our attractive final pricing reflects the strength of the transaction structure, the exceptional credit of Omantel and Oman Investment Fund and the attractiveness of the broader Omani market.”

Naveed Kamal, Citi’s head of Banking for Oman and UAE and Public Sector Head for the Middle East, said “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to be part of this landmark transaction for a key client and to continue to support the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and its related entities.”

“Despite a significant re-pricing of Middle East bank market liquidity in 2016, OIF was able to achieve extremely attractive terms by approaching new investors from China, Korea and Taiwan in addition to Middle East banks. The strong transaction structure and OIF support allowed for a hugely successful deal. With 25 lenders in the deal, this is one of the most successful GCC syndicated loan deals in the recent past,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service