Airtel Africa announced it has recently signed various loan agreements totaling about $2.7 billion. The company is in the process of listing on the London Stock Exchange and is also considering listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The largest financial facility was arranged in May 2019 with Standard Chartered Bank group for a total of $2 billion. During the period, some of the company’s subsidiaries negotiated a $425 million syndicated loan with Citigroup, HSBC Bank and South Africa's Standard Bank.
Under this move, Airtel Uganda obtained a debt restructuring with the South African group Absa Bank for $119 million due at the end of December 2019, which will now be repayable in January 2021. Similarly, in mid-June 2019, Airtel Nigeria secured a N50 billion ($138.6 million) facility from Zenith Bank. And BAIN, Airtel Africa's majority shareholder holding company, negotiated a $75 million loan with JP Morgan Chase's London branch.
These new injections are expected to relieve a drowning Airtel Africa. At the end of March 2019, the company’s debt burden fell sharply, and now represented only three times its EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), compared with a bit over nine times three years earlier.
Airtel Africa did not provide clear information on what the monies will be directed to, but it sees the digital sector in sub-Saharan Africa as an opportunity and expresses ambition to take advantage of it.
It should also be recalled that over the next 9 months, Airtel Africa and its subsidiaries will have to repay up to $900 million, if the debt restructuring obtained for its Ugandan subsidiary is excluded. Also, a part of the resources mobilized, through its capital opening, will be used to reduce this debt.
Idriss Linge
• Global coffee consumption projected to hit a record 169.4 million 60-kg bags in 2025/2026, up from...
• Algeria grants commercial 5G licenses to top three telecom operators: Mobilis, Djezzy, and Ooredoo...
• Investors seem to keep focusing on yields, which are high for the moment• New Leadership might see...
• Kenyan President William Ruto signs strategic partnership with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to b...
• IFC teams up with AfDB and Nigeria’s EbonyLife to assess a new fund for African cinema• Sector cou...
• Morocco began expanding Casablanca Airport to raise capacity to 35M passengers by 2029• The $1.7B project supports the “Airports 2030” plan to...
• DRC extended its cobalt export ban to September 2025 due to high stock levels.• Major producers like CMOC face delivery issues; supply risks remain but...
• Eskom restored Medupi Unit 4 early, adding 800 MW and helping end load-shedding• Coal still dominates South Africa’s power, slowing the energy...
• Ethiopia completed the $4B Grand Renaissance Dam to boost power capacity and energy independence• Egypt and Sudan fear water supply risks, with no...
The Gerewol tradition is a fascinating ritual celebrated by the Bororo Fulani, a nomadic community primarily located in Chad and Niger. This annual...
In northern Ethiopia, in the Tigray region, lies Axum (also spelled Aksum), an ancient city that once stood at the heart of one of Africa’s most powerful...