Etisalat, the leading telecommunications operator in the UAE, said it has signed a multi-currency club deal worth 3.15 billion euros ($4.35 billion) with a group of seventeen international, regional and local banks.

The move is aimed at funding the acquisition of the Vivendi’s 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom, said Etisalat in a statement.

Financing consists of two facilities which can be utilized in euros and/or US dollars. Tranche A is a 12 months bridge loan amounting to 2.1 billion euros at a price of Euribor plus 45 basis points for the first six months increasing by 15 basis points in each of the following three months, the statement said.

Tranche B is a three-years bullet term loan amounting to 1.05 billion euros at a price of Euribor plus 87 basis point.

Utilization of funds under the two facilities will take place at the closing of the transaction with Vivendi, the statement added.-TradeArabia News Service