LONDON-Celtel International, a pan-African mobile carrier, has raised an $80 million long-term debt facility led by the International Finance Corp. The funding consists of senior loans from the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Finnfund, Proparco and Swedfund as well as $40 million from the IFC.
The $80 million debt facility is the final stage of a $270 million medium- and long-term debt package raised with 13 commercial banks and five financial institutions to fund the company’s expansion and acquisition activities and refinance existing loan facilities. The initial tranche of $190 million was raised at the end of last year from a facility led by ING Bank NV and Standard Bank London Ltd., which included Barclays Capital and Citibank International plc.
“We are pleased to continue our partnership with IFC. This loan provides us with the additional capability to grow our current business and to acquire additional value generating assets across Africa,” said Marten Pieters, Celtel’s chief executive officer. “We invested more than $250 million in infrastructure in Africa in 2004, an increase of 140 percent compared to the previous year. This loan brings additional capacity to fuel our growth and help us realize our vision of being the most successful pan-African telecommunications company.”
Celtel has more than 5 million customers in 13 countries.
