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MTS gets $1bn loan to buy Ericsson kit
23 November 2009
Russian mobile operator MTS has negotiated $1 billion finance to buy Ericsson equipment for network expansion for voice and data services, backed by the Swedish export credit agency
Comment: MTS, backed by Russian industrial giant Sistema, is an expanding company. In October it took over Comstar UTS, a fixed network operator which also owns MGTS, the Moscow city phone network.
Mobile TeleSystems, Russia’s largest mobile operator, has received financing of $1.07 billion from a group of banks. The Russian company will use the financing for the purchase of equipment from Ericsson, to use in both voice and data markets, said Mikhail Shamolin, president and CEO of MTS.
The original mandated lead arrangers are Calyon, ING Bank and Nordea Bank, while Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich is the mandated lead arranger.
The credit line, which is backed by Sweden’s export credit agency EKN, will be offered in two tranches.
The first tranche, which will mature in June 2019, will be of up to $428 million, while the second tranche, which will mature in September 2020, will be of up to $645 million. GTB
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